Bellary: Rival candidates file nominations

BELLARY: Battle lines for the Bellary by-polls were drawn as BJP and Congress candidates filed their nomination papers on the last day on Friday.Hagari Gadilingappa of BJP and Ramprasad of Congress, accompanied by hundreds of party workers, filed their nomination papers for the bypoll scheduled on November 30 at the Assistant Commissioner’s office.BJP leaders, including Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and K S Eshwarappa, who descended on Bellary on Friday morning, also accompanied Gadilingappa.Ministers Jagadish Shettar, Govind Karjol, Balachandra Jarakiholi and local party leader and former MP Koluru Basavanagowda, district BJP president G Verupakshagowda, K A Ramalingappa, former MLA B Shivaram Reddy, city president Satish Babu and others took part in the procession that started from Sri Kanaka Durgamma Circle.After a puja at the temple, the procession went through railway bridge, Double Road, Royal Circle and reached the AC’s office.Most of the BJP workers who remained with the party, even after the Reddys severed ties with BJP, gathered in large numbers.As expected, Bellary legislators including city MLA G Somashekhar Reddy, B Nagendra (Kudligi), T H Sureshbabu (Kampli), M S Somalingappa (Siruguppa), Chandra Naik (Hadagali), Nemiraj Naik (H B Halli), MP J Shantha and MLC Mrityunjaya Jinaga who have identified themselves with the Reddy group, were absent