Mangaluru: ‘Saala Melada Sangrama,’ the much-awaited biography of former Union minister and veteran Congress leader B Janardhana Poojary was released on Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatheshwara Temple premises in the city on Friday.

Poojary, releasing the book himself, said that he has recorded the ups and downs of his life in the book.

Earlier to the book release programme, puja was performed to a plate containing the copies of the book before the presiding deity of the temple and it was later carried on head by Poojary till Santhoshi Kala Mantapa, the venue of the book release programme.

Vijaya Bank former chairman and Kudroli Temple committee member Sadananda Shetty, BJP leader and Poojary’s associate Harikrishna Bantwal, Urmila Ramesh Kumar, Poojary’s niece Shobha and her husband Chandrahas, Zilla Panchayat member Mamata Gatty and others were felicitated by B Janardhana Poojary and his spouse Malathi Poojary on the occasion.

Poojary presented a 16 gram gold coin to journalist Lakshman Kodase and said that Kodase has worked hard in bringing out the biography.

Poojary recalled that he was calling Kodase over phone at odd hours and was narrating the very old events of his life.

The audience witnessed a rare occasion in which District In-charge Minister B Ramanath Rai and RSS leader Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat shared a common platform.

Both Rai and Bhat are known for their ideological rivalry. Also, Rai’s presence at Poojary’s biography release programme raised many eyebrows as there was a cold war between Rai and Poojary, after the Rai’s alleged remarks on Poojary were made public by Poojary’s long time aide and current BJP leader Harikrishna Bantwal.

Harikrishna Bantwal had raised a hue and cry in this connection. Incidentally, he was also on the stage.

Welcoming Rai, Poojary called him as the pioneer of developments in Bantwal and wished him good health and prosperity.

Many people, who were eager to purchase Janardhana Poojary’s biography ‘Sala Melada Sangrama,’ returned empty handed as all the books were sold like hotcakes within minutes. The copies got sold out fast as a single copy of the book was priced at Rs 50, even though the original cost was Rs 300 per copy.

Poojary himself announced that the books will be sold at an offer price on the release day. Therefore, many people grabbed the opportunity and purchased three to five copies at a time.

Buyers did not pay heed to the repeated requests by the organisers to wait till the end of the programme to purchase the books. Consequently, all the copies of the book were sold even before the programme ended. The organisers did not confirm when the new copies will arrive.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister U T Khader, Mangaluru South MLA J R Lobo, Mangaluru North MLA Mohiyuddin Bava, Puttur MLA Shakuntala Shetty, state government’s Chief Whip in Legislative Council Ivan D’Souza, Mayor Kavitha Sanil, Kudroli Sri Gokarnataheshwara Temple Management Committee president H S Sairam, former MLC K S Muhammed Masood and District Youth Congress President Mithun Rai were present. A huge crowd witnessed the programme.