Both seats lost, BJP veteran V Somanna says: ‘Ask Yediyurappa why Lingayat votes got divided’

Seemingly irked by the party’s decision to remove him from Govindarajanagar and the lack of Lingayat support in both seats, the 72-year-old Lingayat leader on Sunday, when asked why he could not consolidate Lingayat votes in Varuna despite the constituency having 40% Lingayats, said, “You should ask (former CM) B S Yediyurappa why Lingayat votes were divided. He is BJP’s tallest leader and a Lingayat. I do not want to dwell more on it.”

Somanna accepted defeat but added it would not mark his end in politics. He also said he had received a phone call from the party’s central leadership. “I am hurt as I could not win but we need to accept it. I will not quit politics but will wait for my time,” he told reporters.

Somanna was elected from the Govindarajanagar constituency in Bengaluru in 2018 but was ordered to take on Siddaramaiah. It was a bold gamble, with the party hoping that a leader of Somanna’s stature would, at the very least, keep Siddaramaiah tied up on his turf. Instead, while Siddaramaiah led the Congress to a big victory by campaigning across the state, Somanna lost from Varuna and Chamarajanagar, both of which have strong Lingayat presence. The salt in the wound was that the BJP also lost Govindarajanagar.

In Varuna, from round one of the counting, it was evident that Somanna was nowhere in the reckoning. Siddaramaiah bagged 1,19,816 votes, taking 60% of all votes, whereas Somanna ended up with 73,653 votes (36.94%). In Chamarajanagar, despite anti-incumbency against four-time MLA C Puttarangashetty of the Congress, Somanna could not manage a win, losing by 7,533 votes.

When he was fielded from Varuna, Siddaramaiah had claimed the BJP had dumped the veteran and that this would end his political career. Dismissing this, Somanna reiterated, “I will continue in politics. I fought the elections and did not win. I accept the defeat but that doesn’t mean I will sit quietly.”

But at 72, Somanna’s future in politics seems bleak. BJP insiders said an “understanding” between Siddaramaiah and Yediyurappa played a major role in Somanna’s defeat and Vijayendra’s win from Shikaripura. A leader said, “B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra, who was contesting from Shikaripura for the first time, was facing a tough contest as S P Nagaraja Gowda was the leading Congress ticket aspirant. But the Congress denied him the ticket and gave it to Goni Malatesh, a lightweight, who managed to secure only 8,101 votes, while Nagara Gowda contested as an Independent and secured 70,802 votes to Vijayendra’s 81,810.”