MYSURU: The emphatic victory of BJP in Sira and RR Nagar, wresting them from Congress and JD(S), has come as a timely morale booster for the saffron party ahead of panchayat polls.Over the last two years, the party has managed to change the scenario in the old Mysuru region by winning the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat in the Congress bastion and creating a record of sorts by opening its account in Hassan, the home turf of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda.
The victory parade continued with the KR Pet bypoll last year, and the latest victories have pushed the JDS to the third spot, while Congress is left struggling under Ahinda leader Siddaramaiah and KPCC president D K Shiva Kumar.The RR Nagar and Sira verdicts have proved that the Vokkaliga community is no more the captive voter base of Deve Gowda-Kumaraswamy and Shiva Kumar. The BJP may now use KR Pet and Sira as gateways to control Mandya and Tumakuru.
The saffron party has already started preparations for panchayat polls in Chikkabalapur, Kolar and Ramanagara districts to end the dominance of Congress and JD(S). It has set its eyes on 6,022 village panchayats with 94,775 members, 176 taluk panchayats with 3,903 members and zilla panchayats with 1,083 members.
BJP leader Shivanna said that there was a time when BJP workers were not allowed to even enter villages, which were dominated by JDS. But the situation has changed, particularly after the BJP won seats in Vokklaiga-dominated constituencies, he added.The PM’s Jan Dhan and Kisan Sanman yojanas, and CM B S Yediyurappa’s decision to revive the sugar factory has helped the BJP create political space in Mandya district, he said.
No one can accuse BJP of being a Lingayat party, as it has now a sizeable number of Vokkaliga leaders, including D V Sadananda Gowda, R Ashoka, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, S T Somashekar, Dr K Sudhakar, Narayana Gowda and MP Prathap Simha, said party leader Nanjunde Gowda.
But Opposition leader Siddaramaiah maintained that the by-polls are no referendum, nor will they set the trend for BJP victory in panchayat polls, which are fought on different issues. “The people are comparing the previous Congress government with BJP’s and they will repose faith in us,” he added.Admitting that the poor performance by the JDS in the bypolls is a disturbing trend, party leader Sa Ra Mahesh said they will come back strong in panchayat polls. “The votes are intact in many of our strongholds and we will not give a free run for BJP,” he said.