Madhu Bangarappa claims he will contest Lok Sabha elections from Shivamogga

SHIVAMOGGA: Former MLA Madhu Bangarappa on Friday declared he’s the candidate for the Lok Sabha polls from Shivamogga segment. The JD(S) politician, defeated by BJP’s BY Raghavendra in the bypoll last month, said he’d contest the polls in 2019 even though there is no clarity on seat-sharing between coalition partners JD(S) and Congress.
He told reporters he’d won a moral victory. “In 13 days, I came to the edge of winning.If I had a few more days, I’d have won. I’m adopting a micro-management approach using technology to connect with people. From December 15, we’ll go to the booth level,” he said.
His announcement could cause heartburn among Congress leaders, expecially those hoping to contest. He said he’ll keep his promise as the CM will sanction development projects for the district.
Madhu said BJP chief BS Yeddyurappa met water resources minister DK Shivakumar to create confusion and not to discuss irrigation projects. “I have all the records to show that Yeddyurappa and his son BY Raghavendra took old irrigation projects to discuss with DK Shivakumar. I’ve laid the foundation stone for some projects but in nine years in Shivamogga, father and son have done nothing,” he said.
He added, “Yeddyurappa is not pro-farmer. What has he done during his term? For the first time in the state, Kumaraswamy waived farmers’ loans. If he Yeddyurappa is concerned about farmers, he should participate in the Belagavi legislature session and ask the CM questions.”
He said the BJP has no strong political agenda apart from construction of the Ram Mandir at Ayodhya. The state BJP unit is struggling to fight against the coalition government as it is doing good work. Nobody can destabilise the government and Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy are capable of countering BJP’s strategies, he said.