The Mysore Lok Sabha seat in the Vokkaliga-dominated South Karnataka is heading for a fierce contest as the BJP has fielded the scion of the erstwhile Mysore royal family, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, 32, from the constituency, which is part of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s home turf. The BJP dropped its sitting MP Pratap Simha to bring in Yaduveer Wadiyar. Simha had won the seat in the 2014 and 2019 polls by defeating the Congress candidates by over 31,000 votes and about 1.38 lakh votes respectively.
Making his debut, Yaduveer Wadiyar will take on Congress candidate Lakshman M, the 59-year-old engineer-turned-politician and Vokkaliga face. While the BJP, which has allied with the JD(S) for the Lok Sabha polls this time, is going all out to retain the seat, the Congress also seems to be leaving no stone unturned to wrest it in what has become a prestige battle for Siddaramaiah.
In the 2023 Assembly polls, which the Congress clinched to oust the BJP from power, the Congress bagged five of the eight Assembly segments falling under the Mysore Lok Sabha constituency, which include Madikeri, Virajpet, Periyapatna, Chamaraja and Narasimharaja. Of the remaining three Assembly seats, the JD(S) got two, Hasanuru and Chamundeshwari, while the BJP won Krishnaraja.
Siddaramaiah has been extensively campaigning in the Old Mysuru region over which he holds sway. He has himself underlined the significance of the Mysore poll outcome not only for this parliamentary election but also for the state politics in the coming days. He has indicated that a loss or a narrow win in Mysore and the neighboring Chamarajanagar constituency may have a bearing on his chief ministership ahead. “If you give me a lead of over 60,000 (in both these two seats), only then will I be happy. Nobody can do anything to me then. Do you want me to continue?” he asked the gathering at a recent rally he held in the region.
Congress candidate Lakshman M at a campaign rally in the Mysore Lok Sabha seat. (Express)
Siddaramaiah was apparently hinting that the Congress leadership may replace him with his deputy, DK Shivakumar, if the party does not perform well in the two seats in his stronghold belt. Siddaramaiah was chosen over Shivakumar as the CM after days of hectic parleys within the Congress following its Assembly poll victory.
Both Mysore and Chamarajanagar are going to polls in the second phase on April 26.
The Congress has fielded a Vokkaliga face from Mysore for the first time in 47 years after party leader Tulsidas Dasappa won the 1977 polls from the constituency, which is spread over Mysuru and Kodagu districts and where caste arithmetic is said to play a crucial role in the rural and semi-urban belts.
On the other hand, Yaduveer, a non-Vokkaliga face, is the first member from the royal family to contest from the seat in 20 years after Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar, who contested the seat six times and won four times. In 2004, which was Srikantadatta’s last election, he came in third behind CH Vijayashankar of the BJP and AS Guruswamy of the JD(S).
On April 14, after releasing the BJP’s manifesto in New Delhi, Prime Minister Modi flew down to Mysuru to attend a rally in support of Yaduveer with JD(S) supremo and ex-PM HD Deve Gowda in attendance.
Vokkaligas are the numerically dominant community in the Mysore constituency with about 4 lakh votes, followed by Muslims with 2.8 lakh votes, Lingayats and Kurubas with 1.8 lakh votes each, Kodavas with 2.3 lakh votes, and Brahmins with 1.1 lakh votes.
The BJP is relying on the Modi face while reminding people of the works done by the Mysuru royal family over centuries. On the other hand, the Congress is banking on the implementation of its five guarantees besides the Vokkaliga factor.
At a rally in Mandya Saturday, Siddaramaiah questioned the BJP over denial of tickets to two Vokkaliga leaders and sitting MPs, Simha and former Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda. The Congress is also trying to portray the Mysore contest as a “king versus common man” battle.
Vote share in Mysore Lok Sabha seat.
Meanwhile, insiders from both camps admit that they are facing challenges. The BJP leader said Yaduveer was not getting the expected support from the alliance leaders, especially those from the JD(S).
A Congress leader points to Lakshman’s “limited visibility” in the constituency. Lakshman had contested the Legislative Council elections from the Karnataka South Graduates and Karnataka South Teachers constituencies five times, but failed to win ever. He has however claimed that he has traveled extensively over the past two years while serving as the state party general secretary in charge of Kodagu district.
Another Congress leader complained that Lakshman was “not receptive to suggestions”. “There were other ticket aspirants like Mysuru district Congress chief BJ Vijayakumar, who was not taken into confidence after the candidate was announced. Lakshman seems overconfident as Siddaramaiah has asked all Congress MLAs to ensure his victory, promising them positions after the elections,” the leader claimed.
A BJP insider said, “There is a BJP-JD(S) alliance but you do not see many Vokkaliga leaders campaigning for Yaduveer with interest. For instance JD(S) MLA from Chamundeshwari, GT Deve Gowda, who is the most influential leader within the community is not making much of an impact. He is known to run elections from behind the scenes, but we do not see his presence in the war room. Also, Simha does not seem to be working for the BJP victory. Yaduveer will be unbeatable if the BJP and JD(S) fight unitedly.”
However, the BJP leader was quick to point out that the Modi factor will boost the alliance’s prospects, adding that the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway and the introduction of many trains had earned the people’s goodwill for the party.
Tags: Mysore royal debutant Congress lightweight battle Siddaramaiah ups ante plays Vokkaliga card Political Pulse News
-
