K'taka Polls: JDS candidate Bandenawaz Mahabari withdraws from fray in Bijapur City segment

Vijayapura: In a surprise move, Bandenawaz Mahabari, the JD(S) candidate from the Bijapur City constituency, has announced his retirement from the electoral race. He cited a lack of party workers and organization at the grassroots level as the reason behind his decision.

He further stated that the JD(S) was “not strong enough” to fight the elections in the city constituency, and it was impossible to continue in the competition in such a bad situation.

Addressing a press conference on Sunday, Mahabari announced his support for the Congress party candidate. He stated that there is a fight between two national parties here, and he has decided to withdraw from the fray thinking it would be better to retire than to lose badly.

Mahabari had campaigned in the constituency for 3-4 days after the withdrawal of nominations was over. He said that he found no local presence or support for JD(S) in the Bijapur City constituency. “It would be better for me to announce my retirement from the competition instead of losing,” he added.

Mahabari said he had been with the Janata Parivar for 40 years and had contested in 2008 but lost by a small margin. He blamed the MLA Basabagouda Patil Yatnal for ruining the JD(S) in the constituency. Further, Mahabari denied any pressure from anyone and said he made his decision independently.

“My decision has created an embarrassing situation for the party and the high command. However, I will convince party leaders H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy about my sudden decision,” Mahabari said.