Mandya: With just two days remaining for the Legislative Council elections for Mandya local authority constituency, the Congress leaders in the district feel satisfied with their campaign, even as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah campaigned for Congress candidate L.R. Shivarame Gowda here on Thursday.
The Congress appears to be a divided house in the district as a majority of prominent leaders have reportedly identified themselves with a separate group as, according to them, the followers of Housing Minister M.H. Ambareesh were involved in anti-party activities.
The party has fielded senior leader L.R. Shivarame Gowda in the election. However, he has to face a tough competition from Appaji Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular).
The Chief Minister, along with Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Mr. Ambareesh and other prominent leaders, participated in the electoral campaign at the Silver Jubilee Park, off the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, here.
Addressing a huge gathering, Mr. Siddaramaiah appealed to the voters to elect the Congress candidate, as the BJP and the Janata Dal (S) had lost their base.
The Congress had a history of striving for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden throughout the country. The party had been giving more power to gram panchayats to fulfil Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj, he said.
Mr. Ambareesh, who is also in-charge of Mandya district, described Mr. Siddaramaiah as the best of CMs in the State. “I had witnessed the performance of 17 Chief Ministers in the State. Our Chief Minister, Mr. Siddaramaiah, always aims at ensuring the welfare of the poor. He has implemented Anna Bhagya, Ksheera Bhagya and other programmes for the people of underprivileged sections and also waived the loans taken by backward communities and minorities from various corporations,” Mr. Ambareesh said.
Mr. Shivakumar, in his address, requested the voters to elect Mr. Shivarame Gowda to strengthen the party.
Mandya District Congress Committee (MDCC) president M.S. Atmananda, former MP Ramya, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) member A.S. Ravindra Srikantaiah and others were present.
