BENGALURU: After the BJP gave the Shivajinagar ticket to N Chandra, who has a criminal case against him, including attempt to murder, Tanveer Ahmed, former don from the area, Shivajinagar filed his nomination papers on Thursday as an independent.
Tanveer aims to garner maximum votes in the constituency to help his patron, former minister Roshan Baig, and defeat sitting MLA Rizwan Arshad. After filing his nomination, Ahmed said since he is from the area, he knows the problems and wants to address them.
Supporters and close aides of Arshad said it would have been a cakewalk for Congress, and Arshad in particular, had Baig or his son Ruman Baig filed papers, as the party could have used the infamous IMA ponzi scam allegedly involving Baig against them.
Sources said Chandra, who was once groomed by Baig, would prefer the latter as Shivajinagar MLA, rather than Arshad. Chandra said, “I was with them (Baig, Tanveer) once and always ensured the Tamil-speaking population and Hindus voted for Congress, but the benefits were being given to one community, hence I joined BJP.”