The ruling BJP waited until the last day to announce its candidate for Shivamogga constituency, which often hits the headlines for communal violence. Eventually the saffron party picked S.N. Channabasappa, who once went to jail for his hate speech against former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Once the centre for farmers’ struggles and activities of the Dalit organisations, the nature of politics has changed vastly in Shivamogga.
Bigwigs not in poll politics
Significantly, two big leaders hailing from the district, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa have retired from electoral politics. There was speculation that the latter’s son K.E. Kanthesh might get BJP ticket, but that did not happen.
This time, the constituency is witnessing a triangular fight. Among the three contestants, representing three major political parties in the State, two are new faces to polls. H.C. Yogesh of the Congress and Channabasappa of the BJP are sitting members of Shivamogga City Corporation.
Ayanur Manjunath, who joined the JD(S) at the last minute, has been elected to all Houses of the legislature. Miffed over not getting ticket, he resigned as BJP MLC to contest for the Shivamogga Assembly seat.
The constituency is spread over 33 wards of Shivamogga City Corporation. In the last two decades, the city has witnessed growth in terms of basic infrastructure and facilities.
Wide roads connect one end to another. Land rates have gone up at a fast pace. The local people give credit to Mr. Yediyurappa and Mr. Eshwarappa for the improved connectivity. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in Shivamogga to inaugurate the airport at Sogane, about 8 km from the town, on February 27. Similarly, the residents acknowledge the efforts of Lok Sabha member B.Y. Raghavendra in getting railway overbridges sanctioned for the city, besides the introduction of new trains.
No talk of development
However, urban infrastructure is seldom discussed during the election campaign. The ruling BJP has been raking up past incidents that could potentially divide people along communal lines. Mr. Channabasappa, soon after the party nominated him, visited the residence of Harsha, a Hindutva activist who was murdered last year. Mr. Eshwarappa, addressing a gathering of Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders on April 24, declared that the BJP did not want votes of Muslims.
Despite retirement, Mr. Yediyurappa still holds a formidable influence in the district. The BJP has nurtured the constituency for the last four decades. It has won six times since 1983, while the Congress has managed to win only twice. In the last election in 2018, Mr. Eshwarappa secured 60.36% of the votes polled. How the party performs in his absence is being watched keenly.
The JD(S) and the Congress candidates are making efforts to garner the support of their traditional vote banks. Mr. Manjunath has been talking of law and order in the city. Even after spending decades in the BJP before joining the JD(S), he blames that party for repeated incidents of communal violence here. Former Congress MLA Prasanna Kumar joined the JD(S) after he was denied party ticket. Mr. Yogesh of the Congress is banking on the party’s legacy and its promises to the public ahead of elections.
All three Lingayats
Interestingly, all three major candidates are Lingayats, an influential community in the constituency. In the last elections, the community stood by the BJP, apparently with the hope of seeing Mr. Yediyurappa as the Chief Minister again.
