JD(S) in quandary as Sharief declines offer; AAP fields woman

Janata Dal (S) is again in a quandary as senior Congress leader C K Jaffer Sharief has reportedly turned down its invitation to join its fold and contest either from Mysore or Bangalore in the Lok Sabha elections.

The former Railway Minister is said to have communicated his stance to JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda from Mecca where he has gone on a pilgrimage. He is reported to have said, he would remain neutral in the election which indicates that he would remain in the Congress.

JD(S) initially wanted to field Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, wife of late scion of Mysore royal family Srikanta Datta Narasimharaja Wadiyar. She declined the offer. Subsequently, it made efforts to prevail upon ex-MLC K R Mallikarjunappa. But he decided to stay on in BJP after learning of the JD(S) moves to attract Sharief.

Meanwhile, the Aam Admi Party (AAP) today announced District AAP co-convener M V Padma as its candidate, giving representation to a woman.

Meanwhile, in the BJP, a volte-face by former MP C H Vijayashankar, acceding to the party’s directions to fight from Hassan, has made the party candidate for the Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha seat, Pratap Simha, heave a sigh of relief.

In a sudden move, Vijayashankar, a two-time MP from Mysore, gave up his hard stance and acceded to the party’s direction to shift to Hassan constituency. Earlier, a totally dejected Vijayashankar had taken a stand that he would not contest from Hassan.

The former MP had told Business Standard that the choice of Simha would affect the party’s prospects in the constituency, which he had been nursing for the last 25 years as party worker.

"I am unable to understand the selection of a total stranger. This constituency is a strong turf of the Congress and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. But ticket to an outsider will affect the party workers' morale and unity in the constituency," Vijayashankar had said, accusing his party of sidelining backward classes.