Roshan Baig’s son to contest from Shivajinagar

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Seven-time MLA, former minister and ex - Congress man Roshan Baig has said that his son Rumman would contest from Shivajinagar in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Baig told media persons that he had no intention of contesting the polls because of his old age, adding that his son would be well-suited for electoral politics since he was educated. He further said that he had held talks with BJP over a ticket for his son from Shivajinagar but it didn’t prove fruitful as N Chandra has been named as the party candidate from the segment. Notably, Baig is known to have made pro-RSS statements in the past.

However, the former MLA said that he has put out feelers in the JD(S) on whether they would like to field Rumman from Shivajinagar. Failing that, Baig Junior will contest from the segment as an independent. More than 40 per cent of the voters in Shivajinagar are said to be Muslim.

Baig was suspended from Congress in June 2019 for criticizing the party for its poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka. Then Shivajinagar MLA was forced to concede his seat. A by-poll was conducted and former Youth Congress leader Rizwan Arshad won from Shivajinagar.