Karnataka Congress says PM Modi made to fold hands before ‘rowdy sheeter’

Ravi, who recently joined the BJP, is a ticket aspirant from the Nagamangala Assembly constituency. Though he had several cases registered against him, Ravi claimed he was no longer a history sheeter. “It was an opportunity given by the BJP to receive the prime minister and it was a proud moment of my life. While all of my cases have been quashed, still there are some people trying to taint my image. I received him when he entered the city with my party members,” he said.

BJP sources said that ticket aspirants were given a task to bring people from their constituencies and that Ravi also had arranged vehicles and brought several people to the programme.

Mallikarjuna alias Fighter Ravi or Ravi was active in cricket betting and had multiple cases booked against him under the Karnataka Police Act. He has escaped arrests allegedly because of his connections with politicians cutting across party lines. He was also booked in a Prevention of Money Laundering Act case. He is also said to be involved in settling real estate disputes for money.

Ravi also said that Modi was his inspiration to join the BJP “to clean the system” and that the offer had come from the party. However, a source close to Ravi said that he had initially approached the JD(S) for a ticket but the attempt failed.

The sources said that Ravi had joined the BJP after the party assured him of a ticket. The Nagamangala constituency, with a substantial Vokkaliga population, has been a JD(S) stronghold even though the Congress has also won it a number of times.

Suresh Gowda of the JD(S), who represents the constituency in the Assembly, is from the same community as Ravi. While Gowda secured 1,12,396 votes (62 per cent), Congress candidate N Chaluvanarayaswamy finished second with 64,729 votes (36 per cent) in the 2018 elections. The BJP’s Parthasarathy Gowda polled only 1,915 votes (1 per cent).