SHIVAMOGGA: Winning the Shivamogga Assembly constituency, considered the stronghold of BJP for the last three decades, may prove difficult for the saffron party this time as the segment has witnessed frequent communal disturbances over the last couple of years.
The constituency saw major communal issues in early 2022 after the killing of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha, the putting up of Vir Savarkar’s poster in a mall and a stabbing incident. These disturbances led to frequent bandhs in the city, affecting businesses and the overall economic environment.
Raising the matter, BJP MLC Ayanur Manjunath accused incumbent MLA KS Eshwarappa of promoting hatred and not dousing communal flames. Manjunath, who was an aspirant for the party ticket from the constituency, attacked Eshwarappa after he got an indication that he may not be the candidate from here, party sources said. Instead, Eshwarappa has been demanding the ticket for his son KE Kantesh, which has affected the prospects of second-line leaders, the sources said.
It was Ayanur Manjunath who came out openly challenging the party ticket to Kantesh. He also accused Eshwarappa of promoting dynasty politics. The internal fight in BJP has raised hopes of Congress. The party has 11 aspirants, and in a surprise move, some of them came out in the open recently, asking Manjunath to join the Grand Old Party. These aspirants also said that they will abide by the decision of the party's high command on the candidature.
Over the last several elections, BJP played the Hindu card to amass the support of major communities like Brahmins, Lingayats, Vokkaligas and other minor communities, like Kshatriyas, Darji Marathas, Marwaris and even Tamilians. The constituency has a significant number of Muslim and SC/ST voters too.
As of now, both Congress and BJP are waiting for their respective party top leaders to announce the candidates. A senior Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, predicted, “If our party fields a Lingayat candidate, there are high chances of victory as the entire community would go with us. In the past four decades, only HM Chandrasekharappa of Congress won in 1999.”