BENGALURU, April 8 (IANS) The Karnataka State Congress is taking time to announce a candidate for the Pulakeshinagar assembly constituency in Bengaluru which witnessed widespread violence in 2020.
During the violence, a police station was set on fire. The mob also burned the home of a congressman.
In the 2018 assembly elections, Congress candidate Akanda Srinivas scored a landslide victory by a margin of 80,000 votes.
His home burned down during the violence in the DJ Halle district on August 11 and 12, 2020.
The police had opened fire on a violent mob of thousands, killing three people.
The violence was sparked by a provocative Facebook post against Islam.
Later, after an investigation, it is revealed that Srinivas was the target of a mob who wanted to burn him and his family members alive.
However, Srinivas and his family moved to another place and survived the attack.
A source said that Srinivas “exercised utmost restraint and followed the orders of the party” even after the incident.
However, his name was not announced as a candidate for the constituency in the first list, which included 124 candidates, and the second list, with 41 candidates.
According to a source, the Social Democratic Party of India, the secular Janata Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party are working out strategies to win the constituency.
Congress is also trying to keep the seat at any cost.
Akanda Srinivas is said to be a “strong supporter” of opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
Supporters and fans of Srinivas organized special worship in temples, churches and mosques on Saturday, praying for his ticket in the third list.
They also expressed their dissatisfaction with the party’s delay in allocating tickets to Akanda Srinivas, who won the elections by a large margin last time around.
– Jans
mka/pgh
