Congress MLA ‘invites’ Revanna to contest for Assembly from Arasikere in 2028

K.M. Shivalinge Gowda, Arasikere MLA, has challenged JD(S) leader and former Minister H.D. Revanna to contest for the Assembly elections in 2028 from Arasikere constituency. “If he has guts, let him contest from Arasikere. The people of the constituency will give a fitting reply,” said Mr. Gowda without taking Revanna’s name.

The Congress MLA said this at a programme organised to mark the achievement of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah becoming the longest-serving Chief Minister, at Arasikere on January 11. Mr. Gowda’s statement gains significance in light of recent developments suggesting that Mr. Revanna might contest from Arasikere constituency instead of Holenarasipur in the 2028 Assembly polls. The former Minister had also said he would contest from whichever constituency the party high command assigns him to.

Mr. Gowda, who was with the JD(S) earlier, contested for the Assembly on a Congress ticket in 2023 and won for the fourth time. Stating that he is ready to face the fight in the coming election, the MLA said he had fought and worked hard to bring development works to the constituency. When he got a government engineering college sanctioned for the taluk during the JD(S)-Congress rule, it was shifted to Mosale Hosahalli village, part of the Holenarasipur constituency.

“Mosale Hosahalli is close to Hassan, where there were four engineering colleges already. However, I succeeded in getting one college sanctioned to my constituency as well later. I will release a book carrying the list of development works brought to my constituency during my tenure,” he said.

Further, Mr. Gowda said he left the JD(S) following the differences over the candidate for the MLC election. “They want to field only their family members. I wanted the ticket for a candidate from our constituency. As my request was not accepted, I decided to quit that party,” he stated. He also maintained that his son will not enter politics.