MYSURU: After the death of former KPCC working president R Dhruvanarayana, who was a probable candidate from Nanjangud SC-reserved constituency, the situation has changed for Congress, which is aiming to cash in on the sympathy factor. Though his son Darshan Dhruvanarayana was favoured by the party it is not as easy as a duck taking to water for him.
Darshan is a political greenhorn and this is his first electoral battle. With the backing of his uncle and former MLA Kalale Keshavamurthy, the newbie is trying to test the political waters. Taking on BJP leaders is not an easy task for him. Sitting BJP member B Harshavardhana, son-in-law of Chamarajanagar MP V Srinivas Prasad, will be banking on his works while Prasad, a veteran leader, holds sway over the constituency. Prasad earlier had represented the segment twice.
If Darshan is able to sail through the contest, he would again be a new face in the constituency. The constituency has not re-elected sitting members in the last three polls, including one by-election. Prasad after being elected on a Congress ticket in 2013, resigned and joined BJP in 2017.
He lost the subsequent by-election in 2017 against Congress’ Kalale Keshavamurthy. A year later, Keshavamurthy lost to BJP’s Harshavardhana.
BJP activists claim that the idea of sympathy factor in favour of Congress candidate Darshan Dhruvanarayana was floated by Congress party workers themselves just to keep senior Congress leader HC Mahadevappa away from the segment as he was planning to contest. There is no such factor that exists in the constituency as Dhruvanarayana though being in politics for decades hasn’t represented or contested from Nanjangud.
MLA Harshavardhana told TOI that he has developed the constituency in the last four-and-half years and people have approved and appreciated my work. Even my father-in-law Srinivas Prasad is amazed by the work I have done, he said.
According to sources, Harshavardhana is likely to be renominated from the constituency. Kalale Keshavamurthy said Darshan has started meeting people and he is receiving great responses from the electorate.
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