Shimoga: Former Minister and Congress leader Kumar Bangarappa, who was denied ticket for Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, dropped hints at the possibility of turning a rebel.

Bangarappa, who was overlooked by party high command which gave a ticket to a relatively inexperienced Manjunath Bhandary, told reporters on Tuesday that he will wait till March 26, the last date for filing nomination, to take a decision.

Expressing surprise over losing the ticket, he said, “I had toured almost all the villages in Shimoga to mobilise support for the party, thinking I would get a ticket. My name was cleared at all levels, including by an independent survey conducted by the AICC.”

Maintaining that the party leaders made a mistake by depriving him of a ticket, Shimoga: ShimogaBangarappa said a majority of the rank and file of the party in the district had endorsed his candidature. “Shimoga had always been a Congress bastion. But thanks to the wrong decisions in the selection of  candidates, the party has been faring poorly,” he added.

Earlier during the day, Bangarappa had led a delegation of party leaders from Shimoga and met S M Krishna at the latter’s residence and apprised him about the situation in Shimoga after the party named Bhandary as its candidate. Minister Kimmane Rathnakar and office bearers of the Shimoga District Congress were also present on the occasion, he said. Bangarappa said Krishna assured him that he would take up the issue with the KPCC as well as AICC.

Reacting to the decision of JD(S) to field his sister and wife of actor Shivarajkumar, Geetha Shivaraj Kumar, he claimed that “the JD(S) leaders are known for wrecking families.”