For Sarvodaya Karnataka Party (SKP) candidate
K S Puttannaiah, the campaign in the Mandya Parliamentary constituency has been from his recuperation bed from home, after cardiac surgery.
After the recent surgery in a Mysore hospital, 60-year-old Puttannaiah has been advised six-week rest. He plans to address only public meetings after the six-week expiry. His supporters, largely consisting of farmers and leaders of the Karnataka Rajya Rytha Sangha (KRRS), are carrying on a relentless and unique campaign for the victory of their president in his absence.
He claims that around 10,000 volunteers from KRRS and Dalit Sangharsh Samithi (DSS) are camapaigning for him. “They are campaigning for me day and night on their own. The Vokkaliga dominated constituency is witnessing a unique campaign by these volunteers. They are spread out in small groups to village, while women folk artistes from North Karnataka are campaigning singing popular ‘Gee Gee Pada’ folk songs in the constituency.”
“Political culture is fast deteriorating day by day. politicians.are not at all interested in the welfare of the people. They are only engaged in criticising each other,” laments Puttannaiah. “None of them are speaking about farmers and Dalits or their welfare. Farmers’ issues like total irrigation, agricultural policy, a policy to make farmers debt-burden free, a special legislation to end corruption and measures to stop farmers’ suicides have been neglected,” he said.
Therefore, the KRRS president says, the people of Mandya were aspiring for a change. They want a political set up that ensures their survival and not a system that sows the poisonous seeds of caste and corruption. To bring about this change, thousands of DSS and KRRS volunteers are campaigning and people are contributing money on their own.
Mandya will witness a historic change in the present Lok Sabha election, Puttannaiah says and wants the working class to take up the political reins into their hands. “I am contesting the election despite my ill-health with this sole objective,” he says optimistic of his victory in the Vokkaliga belt.
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Criticising the three main rivals, cine star and Union minister M H Ambareesh, the Congress candidate, former Transport Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy, who is the Janata Dal (S) candidate, and a two-time MLA from Nagamangala L R Shivarame Gowda, who quit the Congress and joined the BJP to contest from Mandya, have lost their moors and their parties are looking at different directions. Veteran leader Made Gowda, who is aged 82, has distanced himself from the campaign, the KRRS president says.
Besides Independents, six candidates are in fray from major political parties contesting from Mandya Lok Sabha constituency which goes to polls on April 30. They are Ambarish (Cong), M Krishnamurthy (BSP), N Chaluvarayaswamy (JD-S), L R Shivarame Gowda (BJP), Kowdle Channappa (Janata Dal-U) and K.S.Puttannaiah (Sarvodaya Karnataka Party).