Mangaluru: Congress candidate U T Khader filed his nomination papers for Ullal constituency at Mini Vidhana Soudha here on Monday, April 23.

He called the allegations claiming that JD(S) candidate Ashraf was pressured not to contest the polls as ‘baseless’. “I have not forced anyone to back out from contesting and I have no problem if Ashraf wants to contest in my constituency,” he said.

Khader says he isn’t worried about his opponent. “People of my constituency will decide who they want to elect. I welcome a healthy competition from my opponent,” he affirmed.

BJP’s Ullal constituency candidate, Santosh Kumar Boliyar filed his nomination on Monday, April 23.

Addressing the press, he expressed his confidence in his electorate. “This time, people will surely cast their votes for me. They have already come forward to openly support me. No one can stop me from winning,” he said.

He talked about how the opposing party has done nothing but instigate hatred by involving in communal politics. “Ullal has no ITI, proper hospital or drinking water facility. Representatives who were elected from this constituency only did communal politics. They give importance only to publicity. They have done nothing for the people of the constituency.”

He promised to build a hospital and ITI in his constituency and resolve the water scarcity problem permanently if he is elected.