Unfazed by Cong ‘wave’, BJP aims to win in JD(S) stronghold

This time, the BJP has chosen Ramanagar district as a laboratory to conduct its political experiments

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: Ramanagar that shot to fame after Bollywood blockbuster ‘Sholay’ was filmed in the district 50 years ago is also known for ‘Ramadevara Betta’, which Lord Srirama visited during his 14-year Vanavasa in Trethayuga.

The town is all set for an epic electoral battle on May 10 among three parties, the Congress, Janata Dal (Secular) and BJP. All these years, only two players, the Congress and JD(S), fought these battles here. But now, the battlefield has widened with the entry of the saffron party. The saffron party is making efforts for its debut in the district, which is mainly fought on the basis of caste and clout of some individuals.

Though it is a small district, it is politically vibrant, making it a power centre. The district has given four chief ministers to the state. The specialty of this Assembly election is that two possible CMs, one from the JDS and the other a Congress man, are in the fray. The father and son duo, former CM HD Kumaraswamy and his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, are contesting from two neighbouring constituencies, Channapatna and Ramanagar respectively.

Sitting Ramanagar MLA Anita Kumaraswamy sacrificed the Ramanagar seat for her son as he lost in the first election, 2019 Lok Sabha from Mandya, by a big margin. In all, there are 59 candidates in the fray in the district, including a woman. In the Vokkaliga-dominant district, the JDS won in three of the total four constituencies in the last election. The lone seat, Kanakapura constituency, is represented by KPCC President DK Shivakumar for the last so many years.

For the first time, the saffron party has not only fielded candidates in all the four constituencies, it is going all out to win at least two of them. In all elections held so far, performance of the BJP has been dismal. This time, the BJP has chosen Ramanagar district as a laboratory to conduct its political experiments. The lotus party has announced that a majestic temple of Lord Rama will be built at Sriramadevara Betta on the lines of Ayodya in UP.

Four Vokkaligas have been given tickets in the four constituencies. To try and check the winning streak of Shivakumar, the BJP has given the ticket to Minister R Ashok to contest from two Assembly seats, Kanakapura and Padmanabhanagar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda have held one round of campaign in the district to woo voters.

DK Shivakumar and his brother and Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh have been ruling over the district and have not allowed any party to grow here. Thanks to the support of Vokkaliga voters, the JDS has been able to take on the Congress onslaught. In Kanakapura, the JDS has its traditional votes. In the 2018 Assembly polls, JDS candidate Narayanagowda got 47,000 votes against Shivakumar.

This time, the defeated candidate along with another JDS leader, DM Vishwanath, have joined the Shivakumar camp. The party has fielded the JDS taluk unit president Nagaraj as its candidate. But, so far neither JDS supremo HD Devegowda nor Kumaraswamy have entered Kanakapura, and Shivakumar has not gone to Channapatna constituency. The BJP smells it as a tacit understanding.

In Channapatna, sitting JDS MLA HD Kumaraswamy is taking on the BJP MLC and former minister CP Yogeshwar. At present, the battle has been equal, but the JDS leader is confident of changing the voters’ mind by undertaking a tour of the whole constituency in two days. On the other hand, Yogeshwar is hopeful that self-respecting voters of the constituency will support a local candidate.