BENGALURU: The Congress picked rookie candidate H Kusuma, wife of late IAS officer DK Ravi, to take on the might of the ruling BJP in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, and is banking on former minister TB Jayachandra to bring Sira back into its kitty. While it appears that the Congress may have misread the situation in RR Nagar by going with a fresh face, experts say the real powerhouse here is the ‘DK Brothers’ — Suresh and Shivakumar — who had helped N Muniratna win in 2013 and 2018.
Muniratna then joined the rebel group and jumped ship to the BJP. Meanwhile, the BJP is yet to announce Muniratna’s candidature, besides the Sira candidate. BJP MLC Ravi Kumar said, “We will announce the BJP candidates on Wednesday, filing of nominations begins on October 9.” The last date for filing of papers is October 16 for the November 3 election.
Both the Congress candidates have already activated their teams on the field. While Jayachandra and son Santosh Jayachandra got a head start with their campaign a few days ago, Kusuma is not yet seen at public meetings. On Wednesday, KPCC president DK Shivakumar was seen with Kusuma, her father Hanumantharayappa and others at a preliminary meeting held at the local Shanishwara temple.Meanwhile, JDS candidate Ammajamma, wife of deceased MLA B Sathyanarayana, reportedly contracted Covid-19 and is expected to be out of action for at least 15 days. Son Surya Sathyanarayana, former Taluk Panchayat member, was out campaigning on behalf of his mother.