JD(S) asks Pulakeshi Nagar candidate to retire, backs RPI

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: There seems to be no end to drama in the Pulakeshi Nagar constituency as JD(S) tried to convince its candidate Anuradha Vivek to retire from the fray barely a couple of days before polling day in favour of Republican Party of India (RPI) candidate Mohanraj.

However, Anuradha refused to retire, citing her own political ambitions. She released a video wherein she made teary-eyed appeal for the segment’s voters to back her despite JD(S) workers being asked to campaign for Mohanraj, who is also the Dalit Sangharsh Samiti (DSS) state convenor.

The Pulakeshi Nagar seat is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs). Mohanraj told News Trail that Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh president Prakash Ambedkar played an instrumental role in convincing JD(S) legislature party leader HD Kumaraswamy to remove their candidate from the fray.

“Kumaraswamy had personally called me to talk to him about the seat on the 19th (April). We had an understanding that no one would get the Pulakeshi Nagar B form from JD(S). I don’t know what happened thereafter. Even SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) was not supposed to field a candidate from the seat, clearing the way for me. Things fell apart at the last moment,” Mohanraj said.

One may recall that on August 11, 2020, Pulakeshi Nagar MLA Akhanda Srinivas Murthy’s nephew P Naveen published a Facebook post insulting the prophet of Islam. After that, Muslim protesters, including Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) members turned up at DJ Halli police station, demanding an FIR be registered against the youth.