DAVANAGERE: This is straight out of an old movie script, a feud involving bigwigs in the same family and passed on to the next generation. S S Mallikarjun, son of Shyamanur Shivashankarappa (SS), Davanagere’s best known political face, takes on Siddeshwar, son of G M Mallikarjunappa who happens to be Shivashankarappa’s relative. Though there are a total of about 28 candidates in the fray, including JD(S) candidate Kallerudresh, the in-family battle takes all the focus.
Mallikarjun and Siddeshwar are the Congress and BJP nominees respectively.
For the SS family, a victory will taste double sweet. In the 1999 parliamentary polls, Mallikarjunappa had defeated Shivashankarappa.
The former contested on a BJP ticket and the latter on a Congress ticket.
In the 2004, the Mallikarjunappa family had the last laugh, when Siddeshwar humbled Mallikarjun, by a margin of over 70,000 votes. The SS family is too eager to avenge the double defeat.
‘CONG HAS THE EDGE’
MediaA analysts and political observers feel that this time the Congress candidate has an advantage, as the “sympathy factor” and the “Wodeyar” factor - which helped BJP last time - are not there. Siddeshwar is learnt to have benefited from the sympathy votes, following the demise of his father just before the last elections. Moreover Wodeyar, who contested on the JD(S) ticket in the last elections, following the denial of Congress ticket to him (he secured more than 1,70,000 votes), is not in the fray now. Because of the Siddaramaiah factor, a large chunk of Kuruba votes are also likely to go to the Congress.
While admitting that the sympathy factor benefited him last time, Siddeshwar, however, said that victory was certain to him this time too, in view of the “good work” done by him.
“I have visited 1,682 villages in the last five years. But the Congress candidate does not move around the constituency.
Instead, he spends most of his time in Bagalkot looking after his factory,” Siddeshwar stated.
CAMPAIGN TRAIL
The busy election schedule has not changed his lifestyle much. Despite late night canvassing, he wakes up early and morning walk is a must for him. The presence of formidable opponents seems to have not unnerved him.
His biggest advantage, he says, is his accessibility to people.
In the public meetings he addresses, Siddeshwar says during the last five years, the constituency has seen unprecedented development.
“Thanks to the efforts of district incharge minister (A Ravindranath), we have taken up development works amounting to Rs 2,000 crore,” he claims.
On the Upper Bhadra project, Siddeshwar blames the Congress for the controversy. “The project will not deprive the people of Davanagere district their share of water,” he says.
Siddeshwar washes his hands off the controversy surrounding the bus shelter scheme, in view of the award of contract to set up the bus shelter to the GM IT institute, run by him.
“This was a deal struck between the deputy commissioner and the principal of the college.
I am not involved,” he contends.
Even as Congress leaders and workers start trickling in early in the morning at their leader’s bungalow, the security guards make them wait outside saying, “Saab came very late in the night.” By the time Mallikarjun comes out a huge crowd, which swarms him, tries to grab attention.
While some seek help, others try to assure him that they would fight, even at the cost of their life, to get him elected. He only tells them, “First work sincerely.” At big public meetings, he reminds the people of the need to bring back Congress to power at the Centre. Asked about the factors that would favour him in this election, Mallikarjun says “The last time he (BJP candidate) won because of the sympathy factor.” An indication of the confidence about his victory this time.
HISTORY
Since the formation of the constituency in 1977, the Davanagere seat had been a stronghold of Congress.
Also, the backward class candidates had held sway over the constituency.
Barring Kondajji Basappa (a Lingayat) who won the seat in 1977, it was Chennaiah Wodeyar belonging to the Kuruba community who won in Davanagere in the 1980, 1984, 1989 and 1991 elections.
The election of G M Mallikarjunappa (BJP) in 1996, was significant in more ways than one. It not only ended the Congress hegemony over the constituency, it also marked the end of backward classes dominance and the rise of Lingayat power.
DAVANAGERE’S METAMORPHOSIS
Observers opine that this political transformation coincided with the metamorphosis of Davanagere from being the “Manchester of Karnataka” to the “Oxford of Karnataka.” In view of the existence of a large number of textile mills, Davanagere town was known as the “Manchester of Karnataka” during the early 80s. But over a period of time, the textile mills were closed down and today the town has become the hub of educational institutions earning it the sobriquet “Oxford of Karnataka.” It may be noted that Shyamanur Shivashankarappa has carved a niche for himself in the field of education.
Industrial activity has also stagnated in the nearby Harihar town, which was famous for sugar, textile and other factories. Thanks to the Bhadra river, agriculture is a lucrative avocation in some parts of the district where paddy, coconut and arecanut cultivation are common.
The decision to take up the Upper Bhadra project has stirred a hornet’s nest among the farming community, besides sparking off political mudslinging. The project, which aims at utilising the surplus water of Tunga, was approved by the S M Krishna government.
A section of farmers in the district is opposed to the project on the ground that the supply of water to parts of Chitradurga, Tumkur and Kolar districts from the Tunga river would deprive them of water.
Both Congress and BJP are trying to derive political mileage out of the sentiments of the farmers.
While BJP leaders are trying to reassure the farmers that no harm would be done to their interests, Congress leaders are trying to blame the BJP for “changing the original project to the disadvantage of the district’s farmers.”