MYSURU: Varuna assembly constituency in the district has been in the news ever since sons of political bigwigs — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Dr Yathindra and BJP State president B S Yeddyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra — have thrown their hats into the ring. Now, this heated contest is to sprinkled with some star dust.
Raghu N R, popularly known as ‘Junior Vishnuvardhan’, for his resemblance to the late popular actor of Sandalwood Vishnuvardhan, is all set to contest from here for the forthcoming elections to Legislative Assembly scheduled to be held on May 12.
Raghu, who has decided to contest as an independent, had unsuccessfully contested the assembly elections from Krishnaraja constituency in 2013 on BSR Congress Party’s ticket. A native of the temple town Nanjangud, he is a resident of Kuvempunagar in Mysuru.
Raghu, aged 50, tells The New Indian Express, “I have been touring the constituency for over a fortnight and the response has been encouraging. Having developed a fan base for resembling the late actor, I have been promised support from most of the voters I have been interacted with.”
Fully aware of the arduous task ahead, especially when sons of political heavyweights are most likely to contest the elections on Congress and BJP tickets respectively, Raghu says, “An estimated 10% to 15% of voters want new faces and this is enough to keep me confident of my chances”.
Raghu is the son of Raja Iyengar, who was the president of the town municipality at Nanjangud once.
He says that does not want to let go of the legacy left by his father, and adds, “My father who was a staunch Congressman had played a key role in shaping the political career of S Nijalingappa, who was also a chief minister of the State”.
After having dabbled in careers in small screen and agriculture, Raghu now wants to test the political waters. He will make his decision to contest the polls public on Monday at a press meet, where he will also be detailing his vision for the overall development of Varuna constituency, now represented by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the assembly for the second consecutive term.