Janata Dal Secular (JDS) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy was on Thursday declared the NDA candidate for the Channapatna assembly by-election to be held on November 13. The seat was vacant after his father and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy was elected to the Lok Sabha. Before finalizing Nikhil’s candidature, Kumaraswamy held several meetings with party workers and leaders, especially people of Channapatna, in the last few days. An important meeting was also held with alliance partner BJP at the residence of senior leader BS Yediyurappa on Thursday, after which Nikhil’s name was officially announced.
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Yediyurappa along with Kumaraswamy, Nikhil and other BJP-JD(S) leaders said that we declare Nikhil Kumaraswamy as NDA candidate for Channapatna by-election. Hundred percent they will win. We all will visit Channapatna together and he (Nikhil) will win by a huge margin. JDS leader and Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy said that this was not my decision or opinion. Our party workers put pressure on him (to contest the by-election) and we took this decision.
JDS state youth unit president Nikhil Kumaraswamy said on his candidature that I am visiting the panchayat headquarters in my constituency and I am doing this only because Kumaraswamy ji has said that we should take all the workers and leaders into confidence. . He said that I am doing my work as a worker. But keeping all these political developments in mind recently, NDA has given me an opportunity. I have great confidence in the people of Channapatna constituency. They will bless me.
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Nikhil, 36, is the son of five-time MLA and former minister C.P. He is going to contest against Yogishwar, who recently joined the Congress after resigning from the BJP on Wednesday. Nikhil’s mother Anita Kumaraswamy, a former MLA, had contested the seat in 2013 but lost. He had to face defeat against Yogishwar on this seat. Yogishwar had joined Congress to contest Channapatna by-election. After this, the pressure on Kumaraswamy from party workers and leaders to field Nikhil increased.
