BENGALURU: Channapatna NDA candidate Nikhil Kumaraswamy breaking down at a roadshow in Kannamangala on Thursday has become a talking point, with opponent CP Yogeshwara of the Congress stating that Nikhil has exposed his lack of leadership qualities. The Channapatna bypoll is due on November 13.
“A leader should wipe the tears of the people; perhaps he (Nikhil) lacks leadership qualities. Bursting into tears, without any connection to the people or relationship with the constituency, is nothing but a political gimmick,” Yogeshwara said on Friday. “A person who senses he could lose in the battlefield uses tears as a weapon, but cannot win people’s hearts with this trick.”
Yogeshwara added that Nikhil is paying the price for the misdeeds of his father, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy, who did not deliver on his promises in Channapatna, despite winning the seat twice and serving as Chief Minister.
“I lost two elections back-to-back (Mandya LS polls in 2019 and Ramanagara in 2023). What wrong did I do? Is it wrong to be born as a former Chief Minister’s son and a former Prime Minister’s grandson? The people voted for me, but Congress conspired to defeat me,” Nikhil had said.
Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswamy remarked that losing two elections cannot be a platform to seek votes.
“Yogeshwara, who was born in Channapatna, lost twice against Kumaraswamy, despite his work on irrigation projects. Nikhil is still a boy,” he stated.
Housing Minister Zameer Ahmed Khan commented that Nikhil had done only what his father and grandfather do during elections. “The same bloodline,” he taunted.