Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka: NOTA handbills cast shadow

BENGALURU: The drama involving Tejasvi Surya, the BJP candidate from Bengaluru South, and Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, his party colleague who lost out in the race, is refusing to die down even as electioneering enters the last lap. Both are at pains to convince voters that there is no discord within the BJP over the former’s candidature.
On Sunday, handbills issued in the name of Tejaswini that read “Vote NOTA in Bengaluru South to Support Tejaswini Ananthkumar Ji”, were distributed in the constituency.Tejaswini quickly clarified in a tweet: “It came to my knowledge that somebody is spreading rumours that I am asking people to vote for NOTA. This is unfounded and malicious. For me, it is VOTE BJP, Modi Again, Nation First.”
At a press conference on Monday, she said she had registered a complaint with the police against unknown miscreants. At an election meeting, Surya said, “Congress leaders are so desperate that they are indulging in this kind of cheap tricks. It is incorrect that Tejaswini is promoting NOTA. She and I would jointly campaign.”
Later in the evening, Surya and Tejaswini conducted a roadshow together. Earlier in the day, Surya met different groups including auto drivers and Brahmins from coastal areas to settle din Bengaluru South.
“The Congress had earlier had fielded the likes of Krishna Byregowda and Nandan Nilekani. By fielding the present candidate, the party has insulted the voters of Bengaluru south,” Tejasvi said at a poll meeting, referring to the Congress candidate BK Hariprasad. On his part, Hariprasad said he didn’t want to indulge in personal attacks and mudsingling.
Tejasvi though still has to negotiate bumpy roads with protests against his earlier stand against women reservation. Samvidhana Ulivigagi Karnataka, a social organisation, staged a protest against the candidate in the evening on Monday.
Meanwhile, a few members of Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Mahasabha met and decided not to support the BJP candidate. Officebearers of the mahasabha said it was not an authorised meeting. “We made a general appeal to members of our community to vote for the most active Brahmin candidate or candidate who is Brahmin-friendly in a particular constituency,” said KN Venkatanarayana, president of Akhila Karnataka Brahmana Maha Sabha.