Shiggaon (Haveri):
The road to development in Karnataka is through chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president J P Nadda said on Wednesday, as he accompanied the 63-year-old to file his nomination from his traditional seat of Shiggaon for the May 10 assembly elections.
“I am not here to ask for support for Bommai but am here to ask you to ensure that development continues and remains stable. You will have to vote for the BJP so that the state is not deprived of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of development. If you want this development to continue, remember, the way to this development is through Bommai,” Nadda said.
Bommai is seeking re-election from Shiggaon, from where he has been an MLA three times since 2008.
The chief minister, along with the BJP chief and Kannada film star Kichcha Sudeep, held a massive roadshow while he was on his way to file his nomination papers. Hundreds of people gathered as Bommai, Nadda and Sudeep travelled through the streets in a specially-designed vehicle, after garlanding the statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, who in 1824 led an armed resistance against the British East India Company.
Nadda said that his visit to Shiggaon was not only to seek votes for Bommai but to show that voting for the BJP is the “way to further the direction of development that has been given to Karnataka”.
“I heard actor (Kicha) Sudeep saying that Bommai was given limited time and he deserved more time. I want to tell you that I didn’t come here to ask for your support to re-elect Bommai. From the energy you have, I know that you have already decided to send Bommai to the Legislative Assembly for five more years,” he said.
Nadda, however, did not specify whether the party had decided to make Bommai the chief minister for another year if it returned to power.
During the public meeting, Bommai thanked the people of Shiggaon for their support and said he was indebted to their love and trust, and would continue to serve them till his last breath. “There were a lot of speculations that the chief minister will change his constituency and contest from another seat. I am not the chief minister who runs away. Whatever it is, my people should decide about me because you are my ‘malik’ (owners),” he said.
“I have served mother Karnataka honestly… You (people) are the ones who nurtured me and will save me, I will serve you till my last breath. When I die, I should be buried in Shiggaon soil,” he added.
