BENGALURU/TUMAKURU : Even as former minister and BJP V Somanna was lobbying for the Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat in New Delhi on Monday, another former minister JC Madhu Swamy said that he too is a strong contender for the ticket.
Somanna told reporters in New Delhi that he is backed by the sitting MP, GS Basavaraju, and he is meeting party high command leaders to get their consent. “The MP and local leaders have accepted me and it is up to the high command to decide and I will abide by its decision,” he said.
He recently met top leaders of JDS, BJP’s alliance partner for the Lok Sabha polls -- HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy -- to take them into confidence.
But Madhu Swamy is backed by former CMB S Yediyurappa and BJP state president BY Vijayendra. On Monday, asked whether he supports Somanna’s candidature, Madhu Swamy said he will not comment till the party high command finalises the name. “There are many yardsticks in BJP and it is not that easy. I am an aspirant and want to contest the polls.
No outsider has won the Tumakuru LS seat. Deve Gowda, the then JDS-Congress alliance candidate, lost in 2019, while retired IPS officer P Kodandaramaiah too faced a similar fate in the past. It doesn’t mean that it will repeat, but it is my experience that the people of Tumakuru will not easily accept outsiders,” he told reporters.
He was taking part in a district BJP executive committee meeting chaired by BJP Tumakuru Lok Sabha seat in-charge and former minister K Gopalaiah.
When pointed out that Somanna is already active in the Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency, Madhu Swamy sarcastically commented, “He was active in Chamarajanagar, Arsikere and Bengaluru as he has the strength to do so.”
On Basavaraju opposing his candidature, Madhu Swamy said it is the sitting MP’s personal opinion. “I have appealed to the high command to become the candidate. In what way am I unfit,” he asked.
He also observed that JDS votes will not get converted fully in favour of BJP in Tumakuru.
A BJP leader said Somanna hails from a Veerashaiva subsect, which is in minority in the Tumakuru constituency, while Madhu Swamy belongs to the Nolamba Lingayat sect which is dominant here. “Madhu Swamy could fit the bill to contest the election. Basavaraju too hails from the Nolamba subsect,” he added.