Panchayat poll cuts ‘son of soil’ Gowda to size

The BJP, which emerged the single largest party in the 2004 Assembly polls, also came out stronger at the panchayat level. Although it was not in power in any ZP, the BJP captured 10 out of 173 Taluk Panchayats and was short of majority by only one seat each in Udupi and Bellary ZPs.

Gowda, who calls himself ‘‘Mannina Maga’’ (son of the soil), and claims to be the sole champion of the rural masses and farmers had risked being considered anti-urban and against the IT industry, the state’s pride, by deriding IT majors’ call for improving infrastructure and opposing Bangalore Development Authority’s (BDA) Arkavathy layout, the Bangalore-Mysore infrastructure Corridor project and the Bangalore metro rail proposal. If all the anti-urban noises he was making were aimed at endearing himself to the rural voter on panchayat poll eve—political observers believed so—they have proved counter-productive.

The former PM also appeared to have miscalculated his caste equations. He had hoped to counterbalance the loss of Kuruba vote due to Siddaramaiah’s ouster by bringing in ex-Rajya Sabha member M V Rajasekhara Murthy. The Lingayat leader who had quit BJP to join the predominantly Vokkaliga JD(S) on the eve of panchayat polls, seemed to have had little impact in his ‘‘stronghold’’—the old Mysore area. In this area Siddaramaiah proved that he was a major force by winning 15 out of 46 seats in Mysore ZP, next only to the Congress.

Siddaramaiah’s ‘‘Ahinda’’ conventions to bring together backward, Scheduled Castes and minorities—which had irked Gowda and led to expulsion of Siddaramaiah—benefited him in Mysore district. In other places where the Ahinda conventions were held, the Congress, which covertly supported it, reaped the benefits—except in Hassan, Gowda’s home district.

It was only in Hassan ZP that out of 40 seats Gowda’s party won 35 and the Congress five, wiping out all other parties. While this confirmed that Gowda was still the Hassan district leader, former CM S Bangarappa, who had been winning all elections in Sorab assembly constituency of Shimoga district for several decades, has won only 13 seats—seven in his district and the rest in Uttara Kannada district, for his Samajwadi Party, opening its account in the panchayat election. He is the sole MP of his party, which is in power in UP, from the south.

It is significant that in Ramanagar Taluk of Bangalore Rural district, which had elected Gowda’s son and JD(S) working president H D Kumaraswamy to the Assembly the JD(S) performance is poor.

The results would boost the clout of both Dharam Singh and Kharge and ensure that Gowda would stop threatening withdrawal of support.