Tableus, folk arts mark Lobo's victory procession

The Congress victory in Mangalore South Constituency in the recently held Assembly elections was celebrated with a grand 'Vijayotsava' (victory procession) from Nehru Maidan to Kulshekar church grounds on Tuesday.

Congress workers burst crackers, waved the party flags, took out tableaus and also took the newly elected MLA J R Lobo and Congress Corporators in a procession.

The celebrations kicked off at Nehru Maidan at around 5 pm. The ‘Chende’ players performed the traditional dance at the arrival of MLA at the Maidan. Dollu Kunitha, Keelu Kudre, people dressed in Yakshagana costumes added colour to the procession. The ‘tiger’ dancers, who had painted the Congress symbol on their bodies performed somersaults and gained the attention and awe of the public.

Congress supporters also took part in the procession with their bikes, cars and auto-rickshaws.

Crackers were burst in prominent places of the city. Traffic cops were on a vigil to enable smooth movement of the procession.

However, the vehicular movement was affected for a long time on Mangalore - Kulshekar road.

Newly elected MLA J R Lobo was taken in an open Jeep decorated with flowers. Speaking to Deccan Herald, he said that the Congress has come to rule in the constituency after 20 long years. "This means that people trust Congress. I shall uphold the trust of the people," he assured and also thanked his party workers for their support.

Assurances made by J R Lobo in his election manifesto were announced at the procession.

The procession passed through Hampankatta, Jyothi, Balmatta, lower Bendoor, Nanthoor, Bikarnakatta, Kaikamba and culminated at Kulshekar church grounds.

It took more than two hours for the procession to reach the grounds. More than 200 vehicles participated in the procession.

A grand felicitation ceremony was held at the grounds.

Congress leaders Ibrahim Kodijal, Shashidar Hegde, Ivan D’Souza and others were present.

Bishop felicitates

Earlier in the day, Mangalore Bishop Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza felicitated J R Lobo at Bishop’s house.

Expressing his happiness, with regard to Lobo’s victory, the Bishop congratulated Lobo and said that there is an MLA from the community after a long time.

The church has been attacked in the past and the feelings of the common man have been hurt.

People desired a new government, and Lobo is what people desired and elected. The Bishop advised Lobo to work for the people, as a true leader.

Lobo humbly accepted the felicitation and credited his victory to the love and support shown by the people. Stating that the constituency has people belonging to all community including Christians, Hindus and Muslims, he re-iterated that he did not win the elections just because of a particular community, but with the help from all communities.

He also revealed that he took nearly six months just to decide on whether to join politics or remain as a bureaucrat. “Finally, I opted for VRS to the government service,” he said.
Vicar General Fr Denis Moras Prabhu, Diocese Chancellor Fr Henry Sequeira and others were present.