The JD(S) received a major setback on Saturday when its candidate from Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, Shivanand Naik, withdrew his nomination after claiming he did not have the finances to fight the elections.
JD(S) now does not have candidates in two constituencies — Koppal and Uttara Kannada. The party has also not fielded a candidate for Dakshina Kannada and has extended its support to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) candidate.
With Saturday being the last day to withdraw nominations, 435 candidates now remain in the fray. KJP candidate from Chitradurga Lok Sabha constituency, Purushottam, and JD(U) candidate Imthiaz Ahmed from Mandya constituency, also withdrew their nomination papers. The constituency with the highest number of contestants is Bangalore Central with 26 and the lowest is Gulbarga with eight.
Naik told Express, “I was not ready to contest the Lok Sabha polls and had conveyed this to former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and MLA Madhu Bangarappa two-three months ago. I reiterated this 15 days back. However, they forced me to contest, promising to take care of the poll expenses. In fact, Bangarappa had promised to meet all the expenses.”
He said Kumaraswamy had been unavailable for the last 10-15 days. “I waited till 2.45 pm on Saturday, expecting a phone call from either Kumaraswamy or Bangarappa, but none of them called.”
“I am not financially stable to spend that much on the elections. I had joined JD(S) with some hope, but was not treated well,” Naik clarified.
Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy said he had promised to take care of Naik’s poll expenses three days ago. “I had extended my support to him during my visit to Kumta. The party would have found an alternative had Naik told us of his intentions before filing his nomination.”
“By withdrawing his papers, he has fled the battleground, which is nothing but a cowardly attitude. Let him reveal the circumstances that led him to withdraw his nomination,” he said.
Shivanand Withdraws Nomination
Asked about not taking Naik’s telephone calls, Kumaraswamy shot back, “Naik is not the only candidate that I should take his call.. there are candidates in 26 constituencies too.”
Sources claimed BJP candidate Anantkumar Hegde had persuaded Naik to withdraw his nomination through former chief minister B S Yedyurappa, promising him a ‘good position’ after the elections.
It is believed that Naik, who is a Namdhari Naik, has much clout to influence the community.
In addition to it, Naik who is from Bhatkal, had a close political association with Hegde before joining the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) and later JD(S).
Another source revealed that Transport Minister R V Deshpande could have had a hand in Naik withdrawing his nomination as his son Prashant Deshpande is the Congress candidate from the constituency.