Wadiyar opts out of poll race

“My left leg is really bad and is swollen up to the knees. It has turned bluish black due to lack of blood circulation. I am suffering from psoriasis, which has resulted in loss of muscular padding in the palms of the leg and causes bleeding whenever I sit with my legs down. It would be impossible for me to go for electioneering in such a condition and doctors have made it clear that I stand to lose my legs if I enter the elections and involve myself in the intense electioneering it requires,” he said.Meanwhile, sources at the Mysore Palace said the announcement of nominations by the AICC a few days ago had come as a surprise as the announcement was made without consulting Wadiyar.

Wadiyar said he might have to leave the country shortly for treatment. Though he had expressed apprehensions about his health and his inability to contest the polls, the announcement of his nomination by AICC had put him in two minds. But the worsening condition of his left leg and the increasing infection in his right leg had made him change his mind about contesting.“Health comes first and according to my doctors, my leg is in no position to take the rigours of electioneering,” he said. It may be recalled that Wadiyar had won the 1984 and 1989 polls from the constituency on a Congress ticket, but had lost the 1991 polls contesting on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket. He had returned to the Congress fold and had won a third term in the 1996 polls.