J Balaji/The Hindu

• Refusal to relieve M.V. Veerabhadraiah criticised 
• Yeddyurappa regime accused of ‘vindictive attitude’
• Chief Minister playing ‘dirty politics’: Gowda

Bangalore, Dec 11: The nomination of 44-year-old Anitha Kumarswamy, wife of the former Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, on the Janata Dal (Secular) ticket for the December 27 byelection from Madhugiri Assembly constituency, was forced by the people of the area, party president H.D. Deve Gowda has said.

“As the Yeddyurappa government, with the mala fide intention and vindictive attitude, refused to relieve M.V. Veerabhadraiah, Director of Social Security and Pensions in the Karnataka Revenue Department, after he sought voluntary retirement to contest the bypoll, we had no other alternative,” the former Prime Minister said.

Talking to The Hindu, Mr. Gowda claimed that at least 10,000 people from the area had urged his son Mr. Kumaraswamy to nominate any one from the family to take on Bharatiya Janata Party candidate C. Chennigappa, his loyalist-turned-foe. As there was no time to search for a new candidate, the decision to field Ms. Anitha was taken to fulfil the people’s desire, he said.

There was no other go as there was only two days left for the closing of the nomination.

“I want to make this clear since I do not want the people to feel that we are anxious to field our own family members in the polls,” Mr. Gowda said. He lambasted Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa for playing “dirty politics” against the Janata Dal (Secular) and said the Chief Minister himself had kept the file relating to voluntary retirement of Mr. Veerabhadraiah even though other officials, including the Chief Secretary, had cleared it within four days.