Karnataka: Bypoll results signal BJP inroads into Vokkaliga belt

“We have achieved the target of becoming the leading party in almost all the districts and we have been able to establish the BJP within the larger framework of Hindutva instead of being a party with the support of one or two communities,” said P Muralidhar Rao, BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka.

Sources in BJP’s Karnataka unit pointed out that the win was emphatic and saw the party making a debut in districts it had never won in, such as Mandya and Chikkaballapur. The most significant victory was in Krishnarajapete, considered to be a fortress of Vokkaligas.

The seat has traditionally supported the JD(S) and former PM H D Deve Gowda.

This time, however, BJP’s Narayan Gowda, who defected from JD (S), won the seat with a margin of 9,731 votes. Party leaders credit Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra for the victory in Krisnarajapete.

Vijayendra had camped in the constituency in the run-up to the polls and vowed to win the seat, which is also the home constituency of Yediyurappa, for the party.

“With the bypoll results, the party has proved that with good candidates and proper planning, BJP can win Vokkaliga seats too. As for JD(S), its prominent leader Deve Gowda is 86 and his son H D Kumaraswamy is also getting weaker. The BJP’s emergence as a party which has influence across the state is imminent,” said a party leader.

Rao pointed out that over the last few years, the BJP has been able to come up with a number of leaders from the Vokkaliga community, including R Ashok, C T Ravi, Pratap Simha and Preetham Gowda, and that would help the BJP win the trust of the community. “The clout of these leaders will earn the trust of the community and will give the electorate confidence that this a party that gives space to our community,” Rao said.