Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (MS)

Udupi, Mar 17: Former minister in the Siddaramaiah led Congress government, Pramod Madhwaraj is likely to contest as the consensus candidate in the Lok Sabha constituency of Udupi- Chikkamagaluru as per the latest developments.

The statement made by Chikkamagaluru JD(S) president Dharmegowda supports this view very much. Dharmegowda said, "There is no need to surprise, if the constituency in which JD (S) is supposed to contest as per the agreement between the alliance partners is given away to Congress. It is not possible to guess as to what decision leaders like Devegowda, Vishwanath and Kumaraswamy will take. Give and take is quite common in coalition government."

The statement made by Dharmegowda is in line with new formula that seems to have been accepted by JD (S) for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. If this is true, then Pramod Madhwaraj may as well contest as a candidate of the alliance partners from the constituency of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru.

Pramod Madhwaraj confirmed his meeting with Kumaraswamy and said, "It is true that chief minister H D Kumaraswamy spoke to me. He has told that he does not have any objection to give JD (S) ticket to a Congress candidate. He will speak to the Congress leaders of both the districts himself."

If the statements given by both Dharmegowda and Madhwaraj are true, then it seems that Pramod Madhwaraj will contest against the BJP candidate from the Lok Sabha constituency of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru.