Public memory is short and becomes shorter still on one’s home turf. Take for instance the corruption charges that put former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa in jail—they are a non-issue in his home constituency Shikaripur. “Tell me, who has not made money being in politics?’’ his voters ask, candidly.
The only person banking on these charges is Yeddyurappa’s former friend and now bitter opponent, Congress candidate Shanthaveerappa Gowda, who obstinately believes he can win. “People are seeking a change. I can sense it wherever I go for campaign,’’ said Gowda.
But he, perhaps, is living on hope. There is certainly an undercurrent of discontent against the sitting MLA of Shikaripur, but Gowda will need a tidal wave to win, and most people in the constituency don’t think there is any wave in the horizon. “Yeddyurappa will win, there is no doubt,’’ says Mahesh, a stationery shop owner, unequivocally.
The reason for such confidence is not far to seek. Yeddyurappa learnt his lessons after the only loss he suffered in this constituency in 1999, when he was accused of neglecting it. From 2004 to date, he has nursed it extensively and transformed the once small, sleepy town with facilities that rival and often better those at district headquarters Shimoga.
There are concrete roads to every nook and corner of Shikaripur, school and college buildings are new as are government offices, and there is enough water to drink and to irrigate the fields. The government hospital at Shikaripur is said to be better than the one at Shimoga, while the cultural centre here rivals Bangalore’s Ravindra Kalakshetra in size and grandeur.
It is not just the facilities though. On the surface, Yeddyurappa seems to have developed a very good rapport with the people. “For people here, the party is not important, Yeddyurappa is,” says Gurumurthy, a decades-old associate of the leader. He points to the recent elections to Shikaripur town municipal council which Yeddyurappa’s new party, the KJP, swept. But Gurumurthy cleverly avoids mention of Shiralkoppa, the other big town in the segment which the KJP shared with the Congress.
Some people do raise issues that are uncomfortable for Yeddyurappa and his family. They point to the Kumadvati Residential Central School run by them. ‘’Though in existence for over a decade, this institution expanded exponentially after Yeddyurappa came to power. What does it indicate?" asks a grocery shop owner.
No one really gives K Manjunath of the BJP any chance of winning. The Congress, however, is hoping that the anti-incumbency factor will rub off on Yeddyurappa. JD(S) candidate H T Baligar, who has taken voluntary retirement from service, is trying his best to consolidate votes of the ST community.