Union minister HD Kumaraswamy offers prayers at Tirumala temple

Tirupati: Union Heavy Industries and Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy offered prayers to Lord Sri Venkateswara Swami at Tirumala temple in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday morning. He sought blessings to succeed in his work as a minister in the Union Government. Kumaraswamy said that he prayed to Lord Venkateswara to give him strength to succeed in his work in the central government. "From the beginning, we have been devotees of Lord Venkateswara. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given me a big responsibility. I went to seek Lord Venkateswara's blessings to succeed in my work as a minister in the Union Government. For that, I came here and prayed to Lord Venkateswara to give me strength. We have to meet the expectations of the Prime Minister and also work for development," he said.

Earlier, former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy held a massive roadshow in Bengaluru on Friday, marking his first major public event since the National



Democratic Alliance (NDA) secured a victory in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. He received a warm welcome from Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP Karnataka workers and leaders upon his arrival at the airport. Kumaraswamy took charge as the Union Minister for Heavy Industries on Tuesday, June 11. He has also been allocated the Steel Ministry portfolio.

On Sunday, Kumaraswamy took oath as a Union Cabinet Minister in the NDA government. He was one of the two JD(S) candidates who won the Lok Sabha elections. Kumaraswamy won the Mandya constituency. This time, the BJP and JD(S) contested the Lok Sabha elections together, with the former contesting 25 out of 28 seats in the state and the latter contesting three seats. The BJP secured 17 out of 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, JD(S) won two seats, and the Indian National Congress secured nine seats.