Bengaluru, April 8 (IANS) The Congress in Karnataka is taking time to announce candidate for the Pulakeshinagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru which witnessed large scale violence in 2020.
During the violence, a police station was set afire. A Congress legislator’s house was also burned down by a mob.
In the 2018 Assembly elections, Congress candidate Akhanda Srinivas registered a thumping win a margin of 80,000 votes.
His house was burned down during the violence in the DJ Halli area on August 11 and 12, 2020.
The police had opened fire on the violent group of thousands, resulting in the death of three persons.
The violence was triggered by a provocative Facebook post against Islam.
Later, following a probe, it was revealed that Srinivas was the target of the mob that wanted to burn him and his family members alive.
However, Srinivas and his family had moved to another place and escaped the attack.
A source said that even after the incident, Srinivas “displayed maximum restraint, and followed the orders of the party”.
However, his name was not announced as the candidate for the constituency in the first list of 124 candidates and second list of 41 candidates.
According to a source, the Social Democratic Party of India, Janata Dal-Secular and the Bharatiya Janata Party are making strategies to win the constituency.
Also, Congress is trying to retain the seat at any cost.
Akhanda Srinivas is said to be a “staunch supporter” of opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
The supporters and fans of Srinivas organised special worship in temples, churches and mosques on Saturday, praying for his ticket in the third list.
They also expressed their dissatisfaction over the party delaying ticket allotment to Akhanda Srinivas, who won elections by a huge margin last time.
–IANS
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