Sriramulu could upset Congress apple cart

KOPPAL:  If rumours of B Sriramulu entering the fray in the Koppal by-poll as an independent candidate with tacit support of JD(S) comes true, it could upset the Congress apple cart for victory.In 2004, Congress candidate K Basavaraj Hitnal defeated the BJP candidate Sanganna Karadi by 5,348 votes in the multi-cornered contest with consolidation of votes of Minorities, Kurubas and Backward Classes for the Congress.Now, even as a similar equation seems to emerge, the entry of B Sriramulu into the poll fray could wean away votes of the Backward Classes in particular and votes of the Minorities in general from the Congress, while votes of forward classes especially of the dominant Linagayat community could help the BJP scrape through. Meanwhile, federation of Physically-Handicapped Associations of the district announced at a press meet here on Sunday, that it would field its candidate Yamanoorappa Pundagoudar from Gangavati. The federation president Mallikarjun Poojar expressed.