Congress' sitting local MP S P Muddahanumegowda on Friday decided to withdraw his nomination for the Lok Sabha elections. Today was the last day for the withdrawal of nomination from 14 Lok Sabha seats in the state.
Former Prime Minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) president HD Deve Gowda is contesting from Tumkur seat.
Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara had met Muddahanumegowda and urged him to withdraw his nomination in support of Gowda.
After the meeting, KPCC president Rao termed him as "one of the ablest parliamentarians." He also admitted "injustice" has been done to him.
"In this coalition, he is the only MP to lose his seat. He is one of our ablest parliamentarians. Definitely, injustice has been done to him. I have already expressed that view as the party president. It is the party's responsibility to rectify the mistake in the future," said Rao while talking to reporters.
Deputy Chief Minister Parameshwara also praised the sitting MP for doing "extremely well" in the parliament and in his constituency as well.
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"No doubt, he is a pure Congressman. He has done extremely well in the parliament and in the constituency as well. He has been able to win the hearts of the common man in the last five years. We were hoping that he will be repeated," he said.
Parameshwara further said: "In the larger interest of the nation and as a part of the alliance we have formed in Karnataka with the JDS, we have to share some of our seats. Unfortunately, Tumkur was also one of them."
The two leaders also said that they have been instructed by the party president Rahul Gandhi to persuade him to withdraw his nomination against Gowda.
Karnataka will go to polls during the second and third phase of Lok Sabha polling on April 18 and 23 respectively. The results will be announced on May 23.