Bangalore: Wresting the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat has now become a prestige issue for the former Chief Minister late Bangarappa’s family. In all likelihood, the Janata Dal (Secular), which was the last political destination of S. Bangarappa, will be fielding one of the members of his family in the Shimoga Parliamentary constituency in the 2014 elections.

The party is keen on having Shankuntala Bangarappa, wife of Bangarappa, in the fray on its behalf.

Disclosing this to media persons at an interaction programme organised jointly by the Press Club of Bangalore and the Bangalore Reporters Guild, MLA from Sorab Assembly constituency and Janata Dal(S) chief whip Madhu Bangarappa said that the party was keen on fielding either his mother or any other member from the Bangarappa family in Shimoga.

Noting that the party had not taken the final decision yet, he added, “We (family), however, will abide by any decision taken by the party.”

Mr. Madhu Bangarappa said that by wresting the Shimoga Lok Sabha seat, the Janata Dal(S) would pay tribute to its leader Bangarappa who was defeated in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls by the “money and muscle power” of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Janata Dal(S), which has three MLAs from Shimoga district, would strive to defeat candidates from both the Congress and the BJP. He said that he had launched an election campaign from Shikaripur, hometown of the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddurappa. He said that as the party’s youth wing leader, he was focussing on Shimoga, Karwar and Raichur Lok Sabha constituencies and the party had bright chances of winning in all these three constituencies.

On his new role as the party’s chief whip in the Belgaum Assembly session starting on Monday, he said that the “grace period” given to the ruling party had ended. The Congress government had completed six months in office and there was a sea of difference between what the government said in public and what it did in reality.

The Janata Dal(S) Legislaturee Party would meet on Thursday and chalk out a strategy for the Belgaum session.
About the party’s stand on the anti-superstition bill, Mr. Madhu Bangarappa said that it was a political ploy of the Congress government to garner support for the Lok Sabha polls. “The existing laws are enough to tackle the issue, if they are implemented properly,” he added.