MYSURU: The Congress’ clean sweep in the assembly by-polls in Channapatna, Sandur and Shiggoan has come as a booster for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who is battling a slew of corruption charges. The by-election also delivered a victory for DCM DK Shivakumar, who has snatched the Vokkaliga home turf of the Deve Gowda family, which had nurtured Channapatna for decades.
The by-election was necessitated after HD Kumaraswamy gave up his seat to join the Union cabinet, after winning from Mandya Lok Sabha seat. Though Shivakumar has established a solid grip over the Kanakapura belt, Ramanagara and Channapatna remained with the Gowda family. Gowda had himself represented Ramanagara in the 1990s, when he became chief minister. Channapatna was with Kumaraswamy, while CP Yogeshwara was known for being a political hopper.
The bypoll had become a direct contest between the Gowda and DK Shivakumar families, with Kumaraswamy fielding son Nikhil in the face of opposition from the Yogeshwara camp. As a trump card, he brought in 92-year old Deve Gowda to give his campaign an emotional edge.
Amid the contest, an intemperate comment by minister Zameer Ahmed Khan had evoked a Vokkaliga backlash. Yet, the Congress won with a margin of 26,000 votes.
In 2023, the Congress managed to win 38 of 56 seats in Old Mysuru, a Vokkaliga belt, and took its tally to 136 seats, with Congress candidates winning a majority of seats in Ramanagara, Mysuru, Mandya, Kolar-Chikkaballapur and other places. But the celebrations petered out when BJP and JDS formed an alliance and harvested rich dividends, winning 19 seats, including two from the JDS.
The Congress, that fielded eight candidates, including Shivakumar’s brother DK Suresh, lost by a huge margin in Ramanagara, setting the narrative that Vokkaligas had distanced themselves from the Congress to support the Gowda family, as the community was not happy with Prajwal’s sex scandal exposure.
The worst-ever defeat pushed Shivakumar and his brother to the wall, forcing them to maintain a low profile, as the community had let them down. It was a prestige battle for the DCM in his own backyard. He managed to draw Yogeshwara from the BJP to contest on a Congress ticket, and said, “Yogeshwara’s defeat would be his own.” All along, he knew that defeat would mean the end of their leadership in this belt.
The Channapatna verdict and leads have proved that over 30-40 per cent of Vokkaligas voted for Congress, other than minorities, Dalits and backward communities. The results have emboldened the DKS camp, with his supporters openly demanding a change in political equations.