SHIVAMOGGA: Janata Dal (Secular), which has been struggling to establish its base in Shivamogga district, is now sensing an opportunity as former Congress Shivamogga MLA KB Prasanna Kumar and former BJP MLC Ayanur Manjunath have joined the regional party. This time, JDS is confident of winning at least four of the seven Assembly segments in the Shivamogga district.
JDS was formed after the Janata Dal split in 1999, when a faction led by the then chief minister JH Patel extended its support to the BJP-led NDA. This led to the formation of JDS under the collective leadership of HD Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah.
Janata Dal was a strong contender against Congress in Shivamogga till 1999. In the 1999 and 2004 elections, JDS failed to win a single seat in the district. However, in 2008 Assembly polls, the party gave a tough fight in Bhadravati where Appaji Gowda lost to Congress’
BK Sangameshwara by a mere 487 votes. In Shivamogga Rural, party candidate Sharada Pooryanaik managed to secure the third position and in Shivamogga, party candidate M Srikanth also managed to secure the third position. But, the party struggled in other seats.
However, in the 2013 elections, taking advantage of the BJP-KJP split, Poorynaik won from Shivamogga Rural. In Bhadravati, Appaji Gowda defeated Congress’ CM Ibrahim by a margin of 56,041 votes. Madhu Bangarappa won from Soraba. Srikanth secured the third position in the Shivamogga City constituency.
In the 2018 polls, Pooryanaik, Appaji Gowda and Madhu Bangarappa gave a tough fight but were defeated.
This time, the party is confident of winning its lost constituencies such as Bhadravati and Shivamogga Rural along with Shivamogga which is witnessing a triangular fight between the BJP, Congress and JDS.
The joining of BJP MLC Ayanur Manjunath into the party and his candidature has made the constituency a key one.
JDS Shivamogga district president Srikanth told TNIE that the joining of Prasanna Kumar and Manjunath will help the party win. “We are confident of winning Shivamogga Rural easily. Apart from Shivamogga Rural, Bhadravati and Shivamogga, we will also win in Soraba. We have strengthened our base at the booth level. People are reposing their faith in former CM HD Kumaraswamy who gave good governance in the coalition government. The party’s Pancharatna Yatre has also had a significant impact,” Srikanth added.