TUMKUR: Is the JD(S) strong enough to dilute the saffron of the BJP? In the battle between two major communities - Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the prestige of two warring Lingayat religious heads is at stake.
Education is big business in this sleepy hollow. The real estate sector is gradually picking up, with the city developing into an alternative hub for Bangalore.
BJP candidate G S Basavaraju (GSB) is the chairman of CIT Engineering College, run by his son G B Jyothi Ganesh.
Congress leader Dr G Parameshwara despite having an engineering, medical and dental college each, does not have much influence over Tumkur’s politics.
But mutts have become the real power houses, with the presence of a huge Lingayat population.
REAL issues have taken a backseat and it is a battle between the JD(S) and BJP with real estate, mining and related interests coming into play.
In 2004, the JD(S) which lost by a narrow margin of 2351 votes despite fielding a Vokkaliga against two Lingayats, is banking on SP candidate Gowrishankara Swamiji (ousted junior seer of Siddaganga Mutt, after a sodomy case against him. The Supreme Court acquitted him in 2008) to divide Lingayat votes, besides the tacit support by Congress leaders, to defeat the BJP, which enjoys the support of Siddaganga seer Shivakumara Swamiji.
The seer will be the decisive factor.
If he makes inroads into the Lingayat vote bank, he can upset the BJP’s bid to retain the seat.
However, it is said that the Lingayats have made up their mind to vote for the BJP. But some women voters and another small group within the community opposed to GSB have sympathies for Gowrishankara Swamiji, since they feel injustice has been meted out to him.
Male voters of the community feel the seer was fixed in a false sodomy case, but as a religious head, he should not have have entered the fray.
A group of Congress leaders, including Parameshwara, besides T B Jayachandra and R Narayan, are in touch with H D Deve Gowda, in a bid to defeat GSB.
Congress candidate P Kodandaramaiah - a close confidant of Siddaramaiah - who does not have a band of loyal party workers - is banking on the AHINDA vote bank (minorities, backward classes and Dalits) which constitutes about five lakh voters.
He is a Golla community leader and his community has about 80,000 votes. Kuruba voters number 1.5 lakh. He believes all these communities will help him romp home.
For the JD(S), H D Kumaraswamy and his MLA wife Anita have been leading from the front and the leaders are working collectively for their candidate S P Muddahanume Gowda.
While Gowda is busy meeting Muslim leaders, HDK is frequenting Muslim religious places.
The Congress, it is said, has been unable to woo Muslim voters.
JD(S) is banking on Vokkaliga votes (2.5 lakh), Muslims (1.7 lakh), apart from the split votes of SCs and the backward tigalas. The victory in two Assembly seats - Madhugiri and Turuvekere - in the bypolls has boosted the morale of the JD(S) which has four MLAs, out of the eight from the district.
BJP has three and Congress one.
The loss of Kunigal - dominated by Vokkaligas - to Bangalore Rural seat, has been compensated by the inclusion of another Vokkaligadominated constituency Madhugiri, following delimitation.
BJP has about three lakh Lingayats as its vote bank and minority communities, including Brahmins, Jains, the weaver community and others together accounting for two lakh votes. The BJP is also eyeing a major chunk of the Nayaka votes (about 85,000). The BSP has fielded actor Ashok.
