Karnataka Elections: Kumaraswamy did nothing for Channapatna, voters won’t trust him, says BJP’s C P Yogeeshwara

Q. Despite winning the 2013 elections, you lost in 2018 from the Channapatna assembly segment. What was the reason?

Yogeeshwara: You see, in 2018, Congress fielded H M Revanna who is a leader from the OBC community and a lot of votes were split. Apart from it, there was a campaign that the BJP was against the Constitution and it drove away SC/ST votes. H D Kumaraswamy made tall promises like loan waivers for women, elderly citizens, and farmers. This affected my prospects. (HM Revanna managed to gain 15 per cent of votes while Kumaraswamy secured 46.55 per cent votes and Yogeshwara 34.16 per cent votes).

Q. The analysis of 2018 polls suggests that you did not get a good number of votes from the rural belt and Muslims. How do you see this?

Yogeeshwara: Well, it is true and people in rural areas regret it. People in rural parts had high hopes for H D Kumaraswamy and voted for him but he betrayed them and was inaccessible to the people. I have been in Channapatna politics for the past 25 years and the last elections were also a lesson to voters too. There are about 29,000 Muslim voters in the segment. Suppose you consider 25,000 people come to polling booths, and the votes get split between the Congress and JD(S). But in the last elections, the Muslims trusted HDK and his promises and voted for him. This time things have changed. Kumaraswamy barely visited the constituency. The voters here have started to realise that they fell for high promises which never turned into reality.

Q. You are contesting against HD Kumaraswamy who was the chief minister of Karnataka and is a leader of JD (S) from a constituency that has a strong base in Ramanagara and Mandya districts. Do you think this time it is going to affect you?

Yogeeshwara: You tell me what Channapatna constituency benefited from Kumaraswamy chief ministership. He was inefficient and dodged responsibilities. Even if I am a minister, I would have done double or triple the work of Kumaraswamy in my constituency. As a chief minister, he could have done a lot of things but he didn’t do anything. To this day, Channapatna town is in bad shape because of him.

Q. You have also been accused of being one of the prime conspirators to topple Congress-JD(S) coalition government in 2019. Some people say that you, being a Vokkaliga, pulled down another Vokkaliga CM (HD Kumaraswamy). What is your take on it?

Yogeeshwara: What will people of Karnataka do with an inefficient chief minister (Kumaraswamy). The MLAs came out of the party on their own and I have any role in it. I cannot be the reason for his problems. If he was efficient enough, the government would have survived.

Q. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited your region twice this year and do you think it can influence voters?

Yogeeshwara: Very much, PM Narendra Modi’s visits and a rally in Channapatna have really inspired our party workers and gained the trust of voters. Initially, the voters were in a fix on whether to vote for JD(S) or the BJP, but after PM Modi’s visit, they have got clarity. The workers are also energised and are campaigning in the assembly segment. People in rural places have also responded very well.

Q. The JD(S) workers here are doing door-to-door campaigning stating that Kumaraswamy would be the next Karnataka CM. Do you think it can affect your prospects?

Yogeeshwara: It was in 2018 when people believed in H D Kumaraswamy and voted him to power. You can’t woo voters by saying the same lies and giving empty promises. Now, the people have realised that it won’t do any good for the constituency because of what they saw in the past five years. It won’t work this time, for sure.