Cong candidates Hegde and Padmaraj will file nominations on April 2 and 3

Mangaluru: Congress candidates from the Udupi-Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituencies will file their nomination papers on April 2 and 3, respectively.
KPCC working president Manjunath Bhandary told reporters here on Tuesday, that Congress candidate from the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, K Jayaprakash Hegde, will file his nomination papers on April 2.

Meanwhile, R Padmaraj will file his papers for the Dakshina Kannada seat on April 3. “Congress decided that a new face should be fielded to reclaim the Dakshina Kannada constituency, which the party lost 33 years ago. Hence, the party has unanimously declared Padmaraj as the candidate for the constituency. Under the leadership of former minister Ramanath Rai, the party workers will work unitedly for the victory of Padmaraj,” Bhandary said.
Dakshina Kannada DCC president Harish Kumar said that Padmaraj has formally launched his campaign after offering prayers at the Kudroli Sri Gokarnanatha Temple, and seeking blessings from veteran party leader B Janardhana Poojary on Tuesday.
A mass convention of the Congress attended by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, chief minister Siddaramaiah, KPCC president DK Shivakumar and other senior leaders, was held in Mangaluru recently. Soon, Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar, and other leaders will campaign in Dakshina Kannada, at a district-level campaign meeting to be held in Puttur, Kumar said.
On poll preparations, the DCC chief said that the party has already appointed office bearers at each block, and booth level agents. They have already been given training by resource persons led by former MLC Ivan D’Souza. The AICC has appointed Ramanath Rai as the KPCC in-charge for the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, he said.
Padmaraj will campaign in the Sullia assembly constituency on April 11, Moodbidri on April 12, Puttur on April 13, Mangaluru City South on April 14, Mangaluru on April 15, Mangaluru City North on April 16, Belthangady on April 17, and Bantwal on April 18. He will commence his second round of the campaign from April 19, Kumar said.
To a query about the BJP’s claims of its candidate winning the Dakshina Kannada seat with a margin of three lakh votes, the DCC president said that the Congress candidate will win the constituency with a margin of 50,000 to 70,000 votes. “BJP is already a divided house,” he added.
Ramanath Rai said that the guarantee schemes will help the Congress win the election. “Congress MPs from Dakshina Kannada had played a vital role in developing the district in the past,” he said.