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Journalism of Courage
While kicking off the ruling BJP’s campaign for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly polls from Mandya in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysuru region on December 30, Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted both the principal Opposition Congress party as well as the JD(S), calling them “communal, casteist and corrupt”. Shah later said the Karnataka polls, slated for April-May, will be a straight battle between the BJP and the Congress.
Shah’s bid to attack both the Congress and the JD(S) set the tone for the BJP’s campaign in the Old Mysuru region, where the saffron party’s performance in the state Assembly polls has always been below par. This region has traditionally been dominated by ex-Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) and the Congress.
Stung by Shah’s assault, JD(S) leader and ex-chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, the son of Deve Gowda, tore into the former, calling him a “political chameleon” and “reincarnation of Joseph Goebbels”.
In the 2018 Assembly polls, of the 51 seats in the Old Mysuru region excluding Bengaluru city – comprising districts such as Ramanagar, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur, Kolar and Bengaluru Rural – the BJP had won 12 seats as against the Congress’s 18 and the JD(S)’s 20 seats. Of Bengaluru city’s 28 seats, the BJP had then won 15 as against the Congress’s 12 and the JD(S)’s 1 seat.
The BJP’s lacklustre performance in the Old Mysuru region has often proved to be a hurdle in the party’s bid to clinch a clear majority in the state polls.
However, despite the Shah-backed BJP’s push to gain ground in Old Mysuru, the going is set to be tough for the party – especially at a time when the JD(S) has ramped up its attempts to ensure that its support base in the region remains intact.
Alarmed by the massive crowds that Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra drew as it passed through Old Mysuru, Kumaraswamy launched his state-wide Pancharatna yatra from the region, which has already completed its 40 days.
BJP insiders said it would be difficult to push the narrative in Old Mysuru that the next polls would be a direct contest between the party and the Congress. “Though we have tasted some success in the region, building on it would be a major challenge. The BJP can win in several urban constituencies of Mysuru and Hassan. However, replicating it in rural segments would remain a challenge,” a BJP functionary said.
There has been a buzz in state political circles that Shah’s bid to go after the Gowda family and the JD(S) was a “ploy” to ensure that Vokkaligas rally in support of the regional party and dent the Congress’s prospects in Old Mysuru, which might hamper the grand old party’s bid to come to power in the state. Ahead of the 2018 polls, similar attacks mounted by senior Congress leader and then CM Siddaramaiah had led to Vokkaligas rallying behind the community patriarh Deve Gowda and his party.
The face-off between Shah-Kumaraswamy may also take the sting out of the Congress’s campaign accusing the JD(S) as a “B team of the BJP”.
State BJP general secretary Ashwathnarayan said the BJP was looking to increase its tally in the Old Mysuru region in a bid to return to power. It is relatively more difficult for the BJP to do well in the JD(S) strongholds as compared to the Congress-held seats, he said.
The JD(S) is meanwhile focusing on building up a “strong campaign” for the polls, especially in the Old Mysuru region. “We are fighting elections based on issues. We are proactive and have released the first list of 93 candidates. We will release a list of another 50 candidates soon,” said party sources, claiming that the party will be better prepared this time as compared to the 2018 polls, when it won 37 seats as against the Congress’s 80 and the BJP’s 104 in the 224-member House.
