BENGALURU: Buoyed by its recent performance in the recent bypoll in Mandya, BJP has intensified its efforts to consolidate its gains by wooing many local leaders ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. Efforts are on to bring Darshan Puttannaiah, son of farmer leader and former MLA K S Puttannaiah into the party.
Darshan, a US-educated leader who entered politics just a few months ago after the death of his father K S Puttannaiah, had polled about 74,000 votes in the assembly election in Melukote constituency as a candidate of Swaraj India Party. He lost to C S Puttaraju of JD(S).
K S Puttannaiah, the two-time MLA and president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha had a huge following among the farmers of Mandya district and Darshan has taken a plunge into politics to tap into this goodwill.
Senior BJP leader R Ashok said, “Congress, which had supported Darshan in the assembly election, has joined hands with JD(S). We are in touch with him and he has responded positively BJP could emerge as a strong player ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha election in Mandya.”