TUMAKURU: If you have been wondering why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah have so far stayed away from Tumakuru, it’s not because they do not want to take on HD Deve Gowda, it is because their own candidate seems to be not keen on them being there.While BJP candidates across the country are hoping for a visit from Modi or Shah to bolster their chances in the polls, the BJP candidate in Tumkur, GS Basavaraju, is banking on them staying away, according to sources. A former Congressman, Basavaraju in 2014, lost to Congress candidate SP Muddahanume Gowda, despite Modi having addressed a rally there.
According to sources, Basavaraju believes that his image as a Congress leader is still intact among some communities and this could take a dent if Modi or Shah showed up to campaign for him. “He has been campaigning on his own strength. The Modi wave will just be the icing on the cake,” a local BJP leader said.
When The New Sunday Express spoke to Basavaraju, he admitted that he had not insisted that Modi or Shah hold roadshows or address rallies in his favour as there was already a visible Modi wave in the seat. “Yes, the Muslims may vote in my favour as their favourite symbol, the Congress ‘hand’, is not to be seen these elections. I have campaigned for former Congressman K Lakkappa four times and these Lok Sabha elections will be my eighth. I will campaign in my own way and win,” he said.
On the ground, seeking votes for Basavaraju instead are people like K Nayaz, a former loyalist of Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Basavaraju himself, who hopes to gain the minority votes. “In 2018, around 4,000 or 5,000 votes went to his son Jyothiganesh from the Muslim community and in these polls, Basavaraju may get around 10,000 voters favouring him,” said political analyst KN Puttalingaiah.
In 2018, Amit Shah held a roadshow to support Basavaraju’s son, who won the Assembly seat, but his supporters attribute this more to his political tactics than Shah’s campaign magic. A rally by Shah, scheduled on April 12 this year, was cancelled for unknown reasons but sources said that Basavaraju was not keen on it.