Former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, state Congress president D K Shivakumar and BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa's son B Y Vijayendra were among the prominent leaders who filed their nominations on Monday for the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka.
Roadshows, drum beats, sloganeering, waving of party flags, and visits to temples marked the day in most constituencies across the state today, with a large number of candidates and leaders filing their papers.
While Kumaraswamy held a road show ahead of filing nominations in Channapatna, Shivakumar too held a road show and visited a temple of his family deity Kabbalamma, accompanied by his wife, in Kanakapura where the BJP has fielded its Vokkaliga face and Minister R Ashoka against him.
Speaking to reporters after filing his nomination, Shivakumar said that he had nurtured hundreds of leaders in the constituency in the past 35 years and they would fight the election on his behalf, the results of which would be seen on the day of the announcement of results.
"I'm not the candidate here. Every household and family in this constituency will do the elections thinking themselves as the candidates, as I have served them for 35 years..." he said.
Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil Kumaraswamy filed his nomination in Ramanagara accompanied by his mother and JD(S) sitting MLA from the segment Anitha Kumaraswamy. Nikhil, an actor-turned-politician, contested the 2019 LokSabha polls from Mandya unsuccessfully.
Both father and son, who are contesting from neighbouring constituencies of Channapatna and Ramanagara respectively, earlier in the day met party patriarch and former PM H D Deve Gowda (Kumaraswamy's father and Nikhil's grandfather) to collect their 'B form' and took his blessings.
"People of Ramanagara and my family have become integral parts of each other and there is an emotional connection with the people there. Similar is the case with Channapatna," Kumaraswamy said.
Deve Gowda's elder son and former Minister H D Revanna filed his nomination from Holenarsipura in the family's home turf of Hassan district, accompanied by his wife Bhavani Revanna and their son and Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. The family visited temples before filing the nominations.
In the Shikaripura seat in Shivamogga district, vacated by BJP strongman and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, his son and state BJP vice president B Y Vijayendra filed his nomination today accompanied by family and supporters
Vijayendra held a road show before filing papers. "I have filled my nomination at an auspicious muhurta today. On April 19, I will be filing another set of nominations accompanied by my father Yediyurappa, and other leaders," he said.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accompanied Minister V Somanna who filed his nomination in Varuna, where he is contesting against senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
In Hoskote, both Minister and MLC M T B Nagaraj as well as his bitter opponent Sharath Bachegowda from Congress filed their papers today.
Minister R Ashoka, who is also contesting from Padmanabhanagar along with Kanakapura against Shivakumar, submitted his nomination today at Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru which he currently represents, accompanied by Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya.
BJP's National general secretary C T Ravi from Chikkamagaluru, Kumar Bangarappa from Soraba, Ministers Ashwath Narayan from Malleshwaram and K Sudhakar from Chikkaballapura, and former KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao from Gandhinagar are among others who filed their nomination on Monday.
