Cordial atmosphere in Dakshina Kannada will be restored if elected to power, says Congress Lok Sabha candidate R. Padmaraj

The Congress candidate for Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency R. Padmaraj, 53, said here on Friday that if he is elected to power, his priority would be to restore the tradition of having cordial atmosphere in the district.

The Congress candidate for Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency R. Padmaraj, 53, said here on Friday that if he is elected to power, his priority would be to restore the tradition of having cordial atmosphere in the district.

Speaking to presspersons after he arrived from Bengaluru, Mr. Padmaraj, an advocate by profession who is facing the Lok Sabha election for the first time, said that he will also focus on the overall development of the district.

Later, addressing party workers of Panemangalore Block in Bantwal, he said that the workers should enlighten people on how the guarantee schemes of the State government had helped the people, particularly the poor. He said that Dakshina Kannada has not witnessed any major development in the past over three decades while the Congress government was responsible for setting up major industries in the district.

Mr. Padmaraj, who is the treasurer of Kudroli Gokarnanatha temple in Mangaluru, said that the party workers should seek votes for development of the district.

Earlier, after arriving from Bengaluru, he garlanded the statue of late Ullal Srinivas Mallya, the architect of Mangaluru, in the city and paid homage at the war memorial at Kadri. Later, he garlanded the bust of Mahatma Gandhi on M.G. Road and B.R. Ambedkar’s statue in front of Kudmul Ranga Rao Town Hall. He also garlanded the statues of Kedambadi Ramaiah Gowda, a freedom fighter, at Light House Hill and the statue of Ravindranath Tagore at Tagore Park on the Light House Hill.

Mr. Padmaraj got his early school education at Javali in Chikkamagaluru. He completed his graduation (BA) at Sacred Heart College, Madantyar in Dakshina Kannada and completed his LLB at SDM Law College in Mangaluru. He had practised law under the guidance of B. Janardhana Poojary, former Member of Parliament of Dakshina Kannada and former Union Minister, in Mangaluru from 1995 to 2000.

With the election in Dakshina Kannada is scheduled on April 26, both the Congress and the BJP have fielded new faces in the constituency. Mr. Padmaraj will take on Brijesh Chowta, 43, a former Captain with the Indian Army, of the BJP in the constituency.