BENGALURU: Mandya was seen by BJP’s master poll strategist and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as the gateway to south Karnataka, but none of the ministers want to take the responsibility of being in-charge of the district. After Revenue Minister R Ashoka, Higher Education Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan and Food and Civil Supplies Minister K Gopalaiah made it clear that they don’t want the burden of looking after the district with just weeks left for the polls, it was now the turn of Sports Minister Narayana Gowda too to say no.
Gowda, who hails from Mandya and was one of the 17 legislators to switch sides to bring BJP to power, said, “I am already in charge of Shivamogga. Can they reshuffle the district in-charge ministers every few months? Ashoka, Ashwath Narayan and Gopalaiah represent constituencies, which are strongholds. If Gopalaiah or anyone else is given Mandya, I will work with them.’’
Asked as to why there is such reluctance, BJP sources said Gowda was earlier district in-charge minister of Mandya and he might not be willing to take on the responsibility as the polls are nearing.
Before Ashoka was moved out of Mandya, there were protests asking the government to remove him as in-charge minister of the district. But BJP sources said such protests should not be taken seriously.
The other reason why Gowda may be unwilling is that Mandya continues to be the stronghold of JDS. Till he won the KR Pet seat forBJP, all the constituencies in the district were with JDS. Also, it could be difficult for Gowda to even retain his seat in KR Pet in the coming elections, the sources said.
Shah’s statements in Manday, demeaning JDS has not helped BJP. Instead, it has made the regional party more aggressive in the region, they said. Though BJP backed Sumalatha during the parliamentary polls and she won, she has not joined the saffron party officially yet, making it difficult for BJP to encash on her influence.
BJP Mandya district president S Umesh said, “We are working on the ground and we have a formidable presence in Nagamangala, KR Pet, Mandya City and Maddur.”