Belur MLA HK Suresh Takes Oath At Dharmasthala, Denies Cross-voting

Mangaluru: Belur BJP MLA HK Suresh took oath before Sri Manjunatha Swamy in Dharmasthala on Tuesday, asserting that he did not cross-vote in the last Karnataka Legislative Council elections and remained loyal to the party.

Suresh arrived at Dharmasthala along with his supporters and party leaders on Tuesday. After offering prayers to Sri Annappa Swamy and Sri Manjunatha Swamy, he took oath before the presiding deity.

Speaking to reporters later, Suresh said that he was sworn in after allegations of cross-voting.

“I did not cross-vote or betray the party. I voted for the candidate recommended by my party president and the Leader of Opposition. Lord Manjunatha and Annappa Swamy are witnesses,” he said.

Suresh said the allegations came to light after the Legislative Council elections and caused pain to both him and the people in his constituency.

The MLA said that he had written to BJP state president BY Vijayendra, Opposition Leader R Ashoka, BJP national general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Radha Mohan Das Agrawal and BJP national general secretary (Organization) BL Santhosh and informed them about the allegations against him. He also said that he told the party leadership that he did not cross-vote or act against the interest of the party and that he was a witness to Lord Manjunatha’s claim.

“The next day, the state president suggested holding a meeting of the BJP Legislative Party in Dharmathala. Even though it was canceled later, I decided to go ahead with the oath taking,” he said.

Stating that he has been associated with Sangh Parivar since the beginning of his political career and believes in Hindutva, Suresh said that loyalty to the BJP is very important for him. “BJP is like my mother,” he said.

When asked who made the allegations, Suresh said he did not want to soften the counter-allegations. However, he claimed that this could be an attempt to put a black mark on his image as some people cannot tolerate his growing political structure and development work being carried out in his constituency. However, he did not name anyone.

Describing the episode as “Agni Parikshe”, Suresh appealed to the people of Belur to continue trusting him. He said that he entered public life to serve the people and would never betray either the party or the voters.

The MLA also said that he is financially independent and has no reason to resort to cross-polling. “I do not need to do such things. The trust and love of the public is more important to me than anything else. I will continue to serve the public honestly and will not compromise on anything,” he said.

He said he believed that Lord Manjunatha would punish those who made accusations against him.