'Congress will polls with majority votes'

Congress leader M A Gafoor said the party candidate Prathapchandra Shetty would win the election with a majority of votes irrespective of the rebellion in the party.

Gafoor said the programmes initiated by the late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi to empower gram panchayats would be beneficial in deciding the prospects of the mandate in favour of the Congress candidate. The State government has increased the honorarium of the gram panchayat members from Rs 250 to Rs 550, Rs 500 to Rs 750 for Taluk Panchayat members and Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,250 for Zilla Panchayat members respectively.

He said Shetty is the unanimous selection of the party and there are no differences among members. Gafoor added that the people who are indulge in anti-party activities would be expelled from the party. There are 6,588 voters in both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, of whom 2,800 voters are Congress supporters, he insisted.

‘No differences’
Udupi district Mahila Congress Vice President Sarala Kanchan said that the Congress candidate Prathapchandra Shetty has voiced the concern over the problems faced by women during all his tenure in both the houses.

Speaking to mediapersons, she said that Shetty is a non-controversial leader and has always expressed his concern for women safety and empowerment whenever he had the occasion. Besides, Congress government in the State is also working towards empowering women and has introduced measures for the safety of women. She added that Congress government’s programmes like Sthrishakthi Yojane, Santwana Yojane, reservation for women reveals the measures taken by Congress to ensure better life for women.

“Shetty has jumped into fray following the pressure from the party workers and leaders. He is the person who works effectively without expecting any sort of returns. Hence, most of the times, his works go unnoticed,” she said. She stressed that there is no difference among party members after selecting Shetty as the candidate.