Mandya votes for pride and self-respect: Karnataka Deputy CM Shivakumar

Mandya (Karnataka) [India], April 1 : Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday said that the people of Mandya vote for their pride and self-respect and do not entertain 'touring talkies' politics.
Speaking at a rally during the submission of nomination by the Congress candidate in Mandya, he said, "There is no instance where the people of Mandya give up their pride and self-respect and hand over power to an outsider. People of Mandya don't entertain 'touring talkies' politics of Kumaraswamy."
"In a democracy, anyone can contest elections from anywhere but Kumaraswamy has been hopping from one place to another. Kumaraswamy left Hassan for Ramanagara district and now has moved to Mandya district. You gave power to Kumaraswamy but he did not retain it. Now, he has joined hands with the same people who brought him down from power," he noted.
"It was the Congress party which made Devegowda the Prime Minister. It was the Congress that made Kumaraswamy Chief minister in the second term. Kumaraswamy says the Congress party has cheated him. Ask G T Devegowda, Balakrishna and Shivaramegowda, they will tell you how much I fought to save Kumaraswamy's coalition government with Congress," he added.
D K Shivakumar further said, "Kumaraswamy used to say that Ramanagara was his Karma Bhoomi but now he has come to Mandya. Ramanagara made him an MLA, MP and Chief Minister and made his father a Prime Minister. Now, he has ditched it. He doesn't have any respect for the people who nurture him politically."
"Let Kumaraswamy do whatever he wants, but I am sure the people of Mandya will vote to save their pride and self-respect. Kumaraswamy has thrown his party's ideology out of the window by joining hands with the BJP. The last time, I came to seek votes for Nikhil Kumaraswamy but this time I have come to seek votes for Star Chandru who is 'Mandya's son'," added the Deputy CM.
"Your vote is not just for Venkataramane Gowda but for D K Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and Cheluvarayaswamy. Of the 28 seats, we have given tickets to 8 Vokkaligas including a Reddy and a Bunt. I am aware that you have given us the highest number of seats in Mandya to Congress looking at me. Your support will not go wasted," he further added added.
Speaking to reporters before the nomination filing, Shivakumar said, "I thought our candidate would win by one lakh votes, but after looking at the crowd, I am confident that we will win by a huge margin of 2 lakh votes.
Karnataka will have elections in two phases on April 26 and May 7 for 28 constituencies.
Karnataka has a total of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies, including five seats reserved for SC candidates and two for ST candidates. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BJP won 25 seats with a vote share of 51.7 per cent, while the Congress won 1 seat with a 32.1 per cent vote share, and JD(S) and Independent won one seat each in Karnataka.
The general election for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases starting April 19, with counting to be held on June 4.