BENGALURU: It is not Siddaramaiah’s Mysuru or B S Yeddyurappa’s Shivamogga where the battle royale in the forthcoming assembly election in Karnataka is set to unfold. It is, however, the Assembly segments coming under Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency that are set to see former prime minister and JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda’s family taking on the brothers - D K Shivakumar and
D K Suresh.
The high octane fight will see JD(S) state president and chief ministerial candidate H D Kumaraswamy and possibly even his wife Anita and nephew Prajwal Revanna entering the battleground here to cross swords with the DKS brothers who are determined to assert their supremacy in the region.
Billed as the ‘Kurukshetra’ of Karnataka’s poll battle, it promises to have all the elements - hatred, intrigue, deceit and secret pacts - of the magnum opus.
Anita and Prajwal are battle ready
Congress MLA Muniratna, the producer of Sandalwood film ‘Kurukshetra’ which is likely to hit the screens during poll time, could face stiff challenge if JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda accedes to his grandson Prajwal Revanna’s request to contest from Rajarareshwari Nagar constituency. In fact, it won’t be a surprise if Muniratna deserts Congress and contests as a JD(S) candidate. Kumaraswamy, who is representing Ramanagara, is expected to have it easy as Congress and BJP are still in search of a formidable candidate to take on the former chief minister. Similarly, Shivakumar, who has snatched Kanakapura from JD(S) veteran P G R Sindia, looks unassailable this time due to lack of any strong candidate from the opposition camp.
Cong-JD(S) pact to oust Yogeshwar
The battle unfolding in Channapatna is evoking huge interest as the BJP has drawn sitting MLA of Samajwadi Party C P Yogeshwar into its fold as part of its larger mission of ensuring the Lotus Bloom in the Vokkaliga belt of Bengaluru Rural and beyond.
In a big show of strength two days ago, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah launched development works to the tune of Rs 571 crore in the constituency. In a blistering attack on Yogeshwar, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar called him a betrayer who had fallen at his (Siddu’s) feet to get funds for development works in the constituency and later claimed it as his own achievement and then joined BJP.
The fight is showing all signs of bringing sworn rivals Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar together to oust their “common enemy” Yogeshwar. There is already buzz in the region about Anita Kumaraswamy entering the fray as JD(S) candidate and Shivakumar having a secret pact to ensure her victory against Yogeshwar, who threatens to emerge as a strong Vokkaliga leader on his own right in the region with BJP’s patronage and resources. Determined to finish Yogeshwar politically, D K Suresh has expressed his readiness to contest against Yogeshwar if needed.
Yogeshwar has proved his mettle by winning the seat on his own strength as SP candidate.
Magadi is another constituency that will see a big fight as sitting JD(S) MLA Balakrishna is likely to take the plunge as Congress candidate with Deve Gowda taking a vow to punish him for his “betrayal”.
With Shivakumar nursing the ambition of emerging as a chief ministerial candidate in Congress, the D K brothers are leaving no stone unturned to turn Bengaluru Rural, Ramanagara and Mandya belt into their own turf.
Deve Gowda’s ambition to see H D Kumaraswamy as the chief minister this time and BJP’s plans to log into the Vokkaliga belt with Yogeshwar as its mascot is promising to bring a thriller that will draw the attention of Karnataka and beyond.