Taking a veiled dig at BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa, former minister V Somanna on Sunday said that his strategies Chincholi Assembly bypoll in 2019 were ‘far superior’ to those of which were deployed in the Kundgol by-election the same year.
BJP's Avinash Jadhav defeated Subhash Rathod of Congress in Chincholi while Congress' Kusumavati Shivalli won Kundgol seat.
Addressing a party legal cell’s meeting here, Somanna said that the party had deployed him for Chincholi bypoll while BJP top rung leaders like B S Yediyurappa, Pralhad Joshi and K S Eshwarappa led the campaign in Kundgol.
"I am proud to state here that winning the Chincholi by-election proved to be a game changer in 2019. Therefore, working for the party and listening to what the party high command says will never go waste in a party like BJP," he said.
Somanna said that he had been fighting elections for the last 45 years, contesting no less than 12 elections. "I had contested 8 to 9 by-elections and won most of them. In elections you win some, lose some. You shouldn't lose heart," he said.
Somanna's political career started as an independent, joined Janata Parivar and after a brief stint with the Congress he hopped to the BJP.
"In the last 15 years of my association with the BJP, I have carried out the tasks assigned by the party. I did not back down anytime. I am a committed party man and will listen to what the party says," he said.
Published 25 June 2023, 16:59 IST