DK Shivakumar likely to use raids to his advantage

Ahead of by-polls to two constituencies in the state, KPCC president may whip up sympathy wave 
KPCC President D K Shivakumar speaks during a press conference on the raids conducting by the CBI at his residence (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)
KPCC President D K Shivakumar speaks during a press conference on the raids conducting by the CBI at his residence (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

MYSURU: The surprise CBI raids on KPCC president DK Shivakumar on Monday have added a new dimension to the by-elections to Sira and Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituencies, which are dominated by the Vokkaliga community. Shivakumar, apart from playing his age-old Vokkaliga card, is also expected use the raids to his advantage by projecting the investigating agency action as a ploy by the government to stop him in his tracks ahead of the bypolls.

The anger of the community was evident on Monday as thousands of Shivakumar’s supporters hit the streets soon after the raids became public. They perceived the CBI searches as a roadblock created by the BJP government to scuttle Shivakumar’s chances of leading the Congress into the next general elections. 
This new development may hit the JDS, which too eyes the same Vokkaliga vote bank. But the party has its own sympathy factor to take advantage of -- the untimely death of its Sira MLA B Sathyanarayana, which led to the by-poll.

Congress leader R Dhruvanarayan said that the raids, which were politically motivated, will only make Vokkaliga and other communities veer more towards the Congress. After S M Krishna, Vokkaligas are looking at Congress to prop up another major leader, Shivakumar, from the community, he added.Sources in the JDS, however, maintained that Shivakumar’s ploy will not cut much ice with voters and it will have only a negligible impact on the poll outcome. Vokkaliga and farming communities have backed JDS national president H D Deve Gowda and his children for decades as these leaders have gained the trust by coming in direct contact with the common man, they added.

JDS leader Sa Ra Mahesh said that infighting between Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar would stop that party from declaring a chief ministerial candidate ahead of the next general elections. Without DKS being projected as the man for the top job, why would Vokkaligas back him, he wondered. 

The by-elections will answer many unanswered questions and Vokkaligas will strongly back Kumaraswamy’s leadership, he added. BJP spokesperson G Madhusudhan, meanwhile, said that the raids will not have any impact on the bypolls and that people have lost faith in the JDS. It was evident when Deve Gowda and Nikhil Kumaraswamy lost the Tumakuru and Mandya Lok Sabha constituencies -- the areas that are dominated by Vokkaligas. The people are now looking up to the leadership of Narendra Modi and B S Yediyurappa as the tendency of voters supporting their community leaders has gone. The party will win comfortably in R R Nagar, he added.

Protests continue
The Congress staged protests against the CBI raids on KPCC president D K Shivakumar in Mysuru and Chikka-magaluru. They accused the BJP of “vindictive” politics and misusing investigative agencies. KPCC spokesperson Lakshman termed the CBI as ‘Chor Bachhao Institute’. “It is an attempt by the frustrated BJP governments to weaken Shivakumar who has been growing politically,” KPCC general secretary M L Murthy said.

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