MANDYA : With its pact with JD(S) triggering dissidence among Ahinda voters, the Congress is now apprehensive that its core support base may shift its loyalty in the bypolls to the Mandya Lok Sabha seat.
The Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) voters consolidated in 2006 in the Vokkaliga-dominated Mandya constituency. They favoured Congress in 2009 and 2013 assembly elections in Mandya. The Ahinda gained an upper hand when they supported Congress leader Ramya in the Lok Sabha election to wrest the seat from JD(S) in Mandya district.
With Ramya deserting Mandya, and Siddaramaiah joining forces with Deve Gowda on the directions of Congress high command, the Ahinda has lost its focus.Though the minorities may align with JD(S), the same cannot be said about the Kurubas, Dalits, Vishwakarma, Bestha , Nayaka, Kumbara and other communities that form a big chunk in a few assembly segments.
They don’t see strong reasons to favour the Congress as they perceive it as having lost steam after the show of bonhomie by Siddaramaiah towards Deve Gowda and his JD(S) party. With a probable split in Ahinda votes looming ahead, the Congress workers have not chipped in to keep its core voter base intact as it would spell doom for the party in the long run.
“We (Ahinda voters) are not bound to go with JD(S) in the Lok Sabha bypolls as nobody from the Congress or JD(S) approached us after both the parties came together. It is unfortunate that these sections of voters, who had put up a united show, are now divided,” said Vasanth, a youth from a backward community. However, a few supporters of Siddaramaiah maintain that though they solidly stand by Congress, they have no similar conviction towards JD(S).
Sensing the confusion, former Minister H C Mahadevappa held a meeting with the Dalits, urging them to support secular parties. He said that the Dalits, who constitute the largest group of voters after the Vokkaligas, are aware about the need to back JD(S)-Congress to save democracy and constitution.
Meanwhile, the BJP is aggressively campaigning to take advantage of the displeasure among JD(S) and Congress workers, and is confident that the possible split in Ahinda votes would work to its benefit.
It has also managed to get leaders from all sections to woo the backward communities and Dalits. The BJP is hopeful that it would gain support in K R Nagar, Nagamanagala, Malavalli and other places where the workers of its rival parties don’t get along.
The situation has worried the JD(S) and its candidate L R Shivarame Gowda, who has taken up the issue with Congress leaders.State JD(S) President A H Vishwanath said that they plan to hold a meeting of leaders of the backward and Dalit communities in a day or two with an appeal to support them with an objective of defeating BJP. Although he expressed confidence about the chances of JD(S) to win the seat, he admitted that a split or shift in Ahinda votes towards the BJP is a dangerous trend.