On B S Yediyurappa turf, Congress caught in a clash between friends-turned-rivals

While Hindutva figures prominently in the election campaigns of Eshwarappa and Raghavendra — both are contesting in the name of Prime Minister Narendra Modi — the Congress, like in other parts of the state, is reaching out to voters over its welfare scheme guarantees. But, for many people in the BJP bastion the strategy has failed to have much of an impact.

Issues such as an increase in the Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) and deaths related to it and the decline of the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel plant and Mysore Paper Mills in Bhadravati due to lack of government support are mostly missing from conversations. Instead, what impact Eshwarappa, an OBC leader, may have on the contest is among the most-discussed topics.

In the village of Thirthahalli, a few kilometres from the home of national poet Kuvempur, Ramachandrapp, a local, says, “There are a lot of local issues. Leaf-spot and yellow-leaf diseases and KFD are hurting farmers. But political leaders are not even discussing these issues during election campaigns.”

Eshwarappa, meanwhile, is confident of upstaging the BJP apple cart in its stronghold. BJP workers, he says, are “fed up with the dynastic politics” of Yediyurappa. The former CM himself won from the constituency in 2014.

“Many BJP workers have joined me to teach them (BSY’s family) a lesson. You go to villages and you will see the kind of support I am getting. Congress candidate Geetha Shivaraj Kumar is a dummy candidate fielded by BJP itself as there is an understanding between the families,” he says.

State BJP president Vijayendra, however, believes that Eshwarappa will not make any difference. “The discussion has to be whether Eshwarappa is going to save his deposit or not. Win is a far-fetched thing and people have already forgotten him. It was only because of the BJP that he won the elections till now,” he says.

The constituency, officially still referred to as Shimoga, is a BJP stronghold that votes in the third phase on May 7.

As for the Congress candidate, not everyone in Shimoga is confident about her chances. Geetha Shivaraj Kumar’s brother Madhu Bangarappa, the state education minister, is handling her campaign.

“First of all, she lives in Bengaluru and how accessible she can be?” asks Prithvi S, a resident of Shivamogga. “She came to Shivamogga during the last Assembly elections and now we are seeing her. If she wins, it will be only if the BJP votes divide between Eshwarappa and Raghavendra. There are traditional Congress votes but they need to see whether they will stick to Geetha.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi addressed a rally in Shivamogga on Thursday, highlighting the allegations against Prajwal Revanna and attacking the BJP over it. Rahul also brought up the Congress guarantee of Rs 1 lakh for women — announced ahead of the Lok Sabha polls — and said it was intended to reward women for their labour at home and outside.

Of the 17.5 lakh voters in the constituency, 2.8 Lakh are Lingayats, the BJP’s traditional vote base that fractured in the Assembly polls last year. Apart from receiving a chunk of the community’s votes, the Congress will be banking on the support of the 2.5 lakh voters from the OBC Ediga group to which Geetha Shivaraj Kumar belongs. Shimoga also has 1.5 lakh voters each from the Scheduled Caste (SC), Vokkaliga, and Bramhin communities, and 1.35 lakh Muslim voters.

Asked what is likely to matter to voters and if local candidates matter, Vijay S from Shankaraghatta, where the Kuvempu University is located, says, “It is true that local candidates matter. Despite dynasty politics and other issues plaguing the region, voting will be more focused on the national issues.”