AAP nominee for B'lore Rural seeks votes for 'Clean India'

The television face of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Karnataka is a busy man.

 Besides hopping from the studio of one news channel to another to take part in debates on various issues, Ravi Krishna Reddy is also the candidate for Bangalore Rural, the constituency which stretches from Bangalore South and Kunigal. 

The fledgling party has fielded him against the sitting MP, D K Suresh of the Congress, the BJP’s Muniraju Gowda and Prabhakar Reddy of the JD(S). 

On Monday, the AAP candidate canvassed in Rajarajeshwari Nagar, which falls under Bangalore Rural constituency. In the company of AAP supporters who rode on four trucks, autorickshaws and motorcycles, Reddy sought people’s support for a ‘clean India’, flaunting the party’s poll symbol, broom. 

During a short break, he spoke to Deccan Herald. Like most AAP candidates, he too had words of praise for the party’s volunteers. “Our volunteers are our strength. Some of them have taken leave to work for us,” Reddy said just as settled down. 

The moot point, however, is whether he stands a chance. Reddy did not mince words, claiming that he would win. “We are not here to just contest elections. We are serious players and we will win,” he said. “There is a lot of anger among people against mainstream political parties which have only looted the country in the 67 years of Independence and mocked the democracy.” 

But it has not been a cakewalk for Reddy as he faced hostile situations. Two weeks ago during a campaign with social activist S R Hiremath, he got the real taste of the kind of politics prevailing there. When Hiremath was addressing a public gathering at Harohalli bus stand in Kanakapura, one of their vehicles was attacked and its windscreen smashed. 

“In Kanakapura we were asked indecent questions. In Rajarajeshwari Nagar and Bangalore South Assembly seats, which are part of the Constituency, some people tried to create hurdles in our way.” BJP workers appeared to have created trouble there, he alleged. 

Like most of the AAP candidates, Reddy is also worried about funds. It is the party which is funding his campaign, he said. “I have about Rs 10 lakh and that’s it. We have to manage our show with this meagre sum.”