Will show the world what this 'rasoyi wali’ can do, says BJP’s newest candidate

When the BJP announced its candidate for the prestigious Davanagere Lok Sabha seat political greenhorn Gayithri Siddeshwara wife of fourtime MP GM Siddeshwara the Opposition Congress quickly brushed her candidature asideVeteran leader Shamanur Shivashankaraapa remarked that Gayithri Siddeshwara was fit to be in the kitchen only The sexist remark stirred a debate at the national level Expressing solidarity with Gayithri Siddeshwara international badminton star Saina Nehwal lashed out at the chauvinistic commentGayithri Siddeshwara who is on the last leg of campaigning told us that she has taken the jibe in a sporting spirit and she will show the world what ldquothis rasoyi walirdquo can do She underlined that people called Prime Minister Narendra Modi a lsquochaiwalarsquo and he showed what a lsquochaiwalarsquo could do ldquoI take inspiration from himrdquo she saysAlso Read This election is crucial to save our constitution INDIA bloc party workersHer dreams include getting a GI tag for the famous lsquoDavanagere butter dosarsquo and establishing a cargo airport in Davanagere Excerpts from the interviewIs this your first election How has your political journey been so farGayithri Politics is not new for me For 30 years I have been working behind the scenes Now I have come to the forefront Earlier I was contributing to the country in my own manner now the central and state leadership has given me a direct opportunity to contribute to the country I feel I am ready to serve Earlier I used to seek votes for my fatherinlaw late G Mallikarjunappa and my husband sitting BJP MP GM Siddeshwara My fatherinlaw visited several villages and had a connection with the voters He used to take the names of 20 to 25 leaders of each of the 1800 villages in the constituency My husband followed in his fatherrsquos footsteps Now it is my turnWhat is the best response to the ldquorasoyi walirdquo comment by Congress veteran Shamanur ShivashankarappaGayithri In the initial stages there will be challenges The baby will not start walking immediately after birth The comment was made when I had just begun my campaigning and was seeking votes Now villagers are complimenting me on my speeches I want to say one thing Prime Minister Narendra Modi was called a lsquochaiwalarsquo in the beginning They challenged how a lsquochaiwalarsquo could become the PM and rule the country He proved his might For me as well they branded me as a person only good at cookingI can also be lsquorasoi walirsquo who can achieve big things In this matter Prime Minister Modi is an inspiration There are women in their homes too It seems they donrsquot cook The bond of love and affection is created when a mother cooks and serves food to her children and the family They donrsquot understand all that They donrsquot have that culture Our culture is Indian culture and the Congress leaders follow foreign culture I serve food to my children and those who come down from abroad also prefer to be served food by me I also served food along with the servants to our party workers who visit our residence and they acknowledge it Now it has come in handy as people say they are obliged to give their vote as they were served food by meAlso Read Gave seats we won five times to partners for sake of alliance Uddhav ThackerayAt the age of 69 you are campaigning all through the day and till late at night How do you manageGayithri I have taken it as a challenge Earlier I used to get up at 630 am feed the cows monitor the work done by the maids and do yoga Now I wake up by 430 am do yoga and start campaigning after breakfastWhen the ticket was announced your candidature faced stiff resistance from within the BJP How are you managing the internal differencesGayithri There is nothing wrong in asking for a ticket If you are fortunate you will get a ticket If people fail to get a ticket they will contest as Independent candidates and this is a normal phenomenon The survey conducted by the BJP revealed that only GM Siddeshwara could win as the Shamanur Shivashankarappa family was ready to contest the election for the Congress They had calculated that if they took the MP seat the whole of Davanagere would be in their control Preparations in this regard were made yearround The party chose to field me as the Congress was pitching in Prabha Mallikarjun from the Shamanur Shivashankarappa family I never dreamt that I would get a ticket and I would contest the electionWhat are your promises to votersGayithri To restart stalled projects create an industrial corridor in the constituency and develop tourist and historical places IT parks would also be extended Our Davanagere butter dosa is quite famous and I want to get a GI tag for it I want to bring a cargo airport to Davanagere If I get an opportunity I will do all thisAre you experiencing male chauvinism while dealing with different leadersGayithri All leaders are cooperating Our BJP MLAs might have lost the election but they have a grip over the masses My husband Siddeshwara is there The former MLAs all see me as an elderly sister and I am taking them alongHow sure are you of your victoryGayithri I am 100 percent confident of my victory I have been touring villages and the voter response is overwhelming I can see that there is great support for meHow do you see MCA student Neha Hiremathrsquos murder caseGayithri Everyone has opposed the Neha case All women condemn it The incident showed that there is no safety for women under this government Within two days of this incident in Channagiri town two young men were stabbed in a communal clash In Gangavathi town a youth was stabbed for raising lsquoJai Shri Ramrsquo slogansHow do you view these developmentsGayithri It means there is no safety under this government All these incidents happened in a week In Shivamogga they took out a procession holding sharpedged weapons We went there and women poured out their grief and stated that Hindus have no protection The Neha case has been dropped already and now the Congress is focussing on the Prajwal Revanna case The development has been given a political colour Exploitation of any woman is condemnableHow was the experience of sharing a platform with Prime Minister ModiGayithri I consider myself lucky that I was able to share the stage with Prime Minister Modi It happened in Shivamogga my native place The second time I stood with the Prime Minister in Davanagere city After his visit I am sure of my victoryHow is your husband viewing your progress as a politicianGayithri He has not seen me going outside in this manner He used to hear about my treatment of his supporters and he always respected meWhat is your appeal to votersGayithri For the safety of our country and protection of our women for women empowerment development of farmers exploited and the poor for developed India to strengthen our economy our vote should be given to the BJP and Prime Minister ModiAlso Read 10 per cent discount for commuters of Mumbai Metro on voting day in MumbaiThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever