Bantwal constituency has two heavyweights fighting it out for the precious seat. While Congress has fielded former minister Ramanath Rai, BJP has banked on former DK district in-charge Nagaraj Shetty to do the trick for them. At the same time, JD (S) cashed-in on K M Ibrahim's rejection by Congress and gave him a ticket from the same contituency.

Continuing our election special, we bring to our readers exclusive interviews with the three candidates. Nagaraj Shetty spoke to Daijiworld in the midst of his campaigning. His speech mainly revolved around BJP ministerial candidate B S Yeddyurappa's and his own achievements.

'Yeddyurappa, as deputy chief minister and finance minister for 20 months presented two budgets which were farmer-friendly, progressive and helped people from all sections be it backward communities, dalits, minorities or workers. He also introduced several schemes for education and healthcare and gave priority to the availability of basic facilities.'

'Crores of rupees were released for the development of each village. People are happy with Yeddyurappa's 20-month tenure,' he said.

However, he did not miss the chance of jabbing at JD(S) and Congress for ending BJP's dreams of ruling the state last October. 'Yeddyurappa had many more plans for the development of the state. He wanted to complete many of the unfinished tasks in the second half of the coalition government as CM, but Deve Gowda and his family along with some of the Congress members cheated him and prevented him from becoming the chief minister,' he said and added, 'that is why I request people to vote for BJP and let Yeddyurappa take the state in the path of development on the lines of Hindutva and 'Ram Rajya.'

'When Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, there was no price hike and we had good governance. The BJP has won the love and trust of the people and they want us to come to power. This is what I felt on my campaign tours.'

When asked about his own contributions, he said, 'Several road repair works were at standstill due to small problems in different parts of Bantwal. I have the satisfaction of solving these problems and completing the works.'

'Secondly, thousands of houses had no electricity and families had to use lanterns. I have seen their condition myself and ensured that they get electricity from the government. In addition, thousands of huts made of grass could never get enough grass due to rainy season. I brought about a change in their houses with the help of several organizations and philanthropists.'

He further added, 'I also noticed that poor students in schools were eating out of aluminium plates while those well-to-do were using steel plates. To bring about equality, I sanctioned the distribution of steel plates to 14,600 students.'

'Also during my tenure, three senior colleges and 100-bedded Bantwal hospital were sanctioned on which work is going on at the cost of Rs two crore. More than 100 fishermen houses were also proposed to be built with Rs 40,000 for each house, something which nobody else has done so far.'

'I want to do lots more for my constituency and that is why I request people to give me another five years.'

Finally, he took another dig at Congress and said, 'Congress cheated people in the last 40-50 years with misrules and corruption. They said 'garibi hatao' but the 'garib' people are becoming poorer while the Congress people are becoming crorepatis!'

Ramanath Rai:

Congress candidate Ramanath Rai is gripped with the spirit of campaigning. Daijiworld team caught up with him while he was canvassing with his party workers on foot. Calm but a little out of breath, Rai minced no words to say what he thought of vote-seekers and ban on liquor.

'Though I lost the last elections owing to anti-propaganda. I accepted my defeat gracefully and never let it affect my work for the development of my constituency. I did more work than even the elected representative and even as a minister I spent most of my time in my constituency.'

'People are convinced now that it is easy to give speeches and promises of bringing the moon and skies but what is more important is the actual work that is done. Maybe some people think that they can fool the voters by telling lies and cash-in on their ignorance but such things don't last for long.'

About his own achievements and experience he said, 'I have served as the president of LD Bank and been MLA four times. I have served in different capacities within the Congress and been part of several political and social causes in B C Road. I have worked as Bantwal's son of the soil.'

'So many contest for elections but none of them are to be seen after elections and if they lose it is even worse. Some of them come back only during the time of elections. But I have been in constituency always and worked for the people. Even when there were communal riots I helped to calm the situation. I even worked for Vittal even though it is not my constituency.'

'When it comes to development I have not bothered to see whether it is my constituency or not because for me all are equal. Many times I have been questioned for my involvement in other constituencies but my involvement is with people's problems not with the administrative powers.'

Asked about his thoughts on the ongoing controversy over liquor ban, he said, 'Liquor should be banned completely. There is no point in banning it partially just for namesake. Liquor is available in shops for a higher price than before. Ban should be something that people gain from but liquor ban has been used as just a tool for propaganda and nobody will gain anything from it.'

'People are not fools, they know who has done what. Let them compare the works done by me and other representatives,' he challenged.

K M Ibrahim:

K M Ibrahim was miffed with Congress for not giving him the Bantwal ticket. He then got the ticket for the same constituency from JD (S) and decided to join the Deve Gowda gang before getting expelled from Congress. In his interview with Daijiworld team he not only vented his anger on Congress but also showed immense confidence of winning.

'Last elections I lost by just 300 votes and this time I have been denied ticket from Congress. I want to stop Congress from doing injustice to people from minorities. From 1947 to date, Congress has won only because of the minorities but till now it has not done anything for their welfare nor given them any important position in Bangalore. Minorities are just vote banks for Congress.'

'That is why I decided to join JD (S). I am protesting against Congress on behalf of minorities and at the same time I will also make people aware of the good work done by Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy.'

Speaking on the response he has had from the voters on his campaigns, he said, 'Wherever I go people are showing their likeness and respect towards me. But Congress is spreading false propaganda among the Muslim community that if they vote for JD (S) and for me, BJP will come to power in the state. I do not understand how that can happen. When Ramanath Rai contested last time he lost to BJP by about 20,000 votes.'

He showed immense confidence in his own victory while saying, 'This time people will see the development works that I have undertaken. Most people in Bantwal are from Vittal and they know the good work done by me. There is no doubt that both BJP and Congress will suffer utter losses.'

Referring to rumours of his candidature by JD (S) he said, ' Some people are saying that I have been chosen by JD (S) to defeat Ramanath Rai and to ensure Nagaraj Shetty's victory. But there is no need for me to contest to defeat Ramanath Rai as some of his own party leaders are working secretly to defeat him.'

'Nagaraj Shetty and Ramanath Rai are two sides of the same coin. BJP can be trusted a little bit but not Congress which has RSS people within the party. If the enemy is in front of you, you can be prepared to fight, but when there are enemies within there is every chance of backstabbing,' he said referring to Congress.

His attack on Congress did not end there. 'Let the voters ask Congress how much it has done for the minorities and whether it has given any important position in Bangalore to a minority person from Mangalore.'

He also alleged that Ramanath Rai has been using some media for false propaganda against him. 'Every day I read some or the other negative news about me,' he said.

'Nagaraj Shetty is my main opponent. You see the ballot papers - first is my name, second comes Nagaraj Shetty and third is Ramanath Rai. I am sure to win because even though I do not have big leaders in my party, I have the support of the voters. There are many who will turn up to vote for us - you will see on May 25 that what I say is true,' he said with total confidence.