MANDYA:

, the JD(S) candidate from

, faced the ignominy of locals in

sternly asking him to leave the village on Thursday.

The villagers embarrassed Nikhil by charging that his father, chief minister

, had done nothing for the constituency and failed to keep his promise to waive farm loans.

An embarrassed Nikhil attempted to placate the locals by claiming that his father had sanctioned Rs 8,000 crore in developmental funds but that cut no ice with them. Unable to face a volley of questions from the villagers, Nikhil left the village, around 6km from Mandya, in a huff.

The rebuff came a day after people shouted pro-Sumalatha

slogans while Kumaraswamy’s convoy passed through Melukote and

in the constituency, which has traditionally been a JD(S) stronghold.

Party MLA KC

was also snubbed by locals in Maduvinakodi over his warning to film actors to keep away from politics. Supporters had to whisk the MLA to safety from enraged fans of superstars Darshan and Yash, who have pledged their support to Sumalatha Ambareesh.

Statements made by JD(S) leaders including Kumaraswamy to belittle the late Ambareesh clearly appears to have boomeranged on the party, said local party leaders, admitting that they are worried of an anti-JD(S) wave in Mandya.