MANDYA: The fight for the Vokkaliga heartland has turned into a prestige battle for former CM HD Kumaraswamy and KPCC chief DK Shivakumar, and is likely to go down to the wire. Both parties took out massive roadshows on Wednesday, the last day of campaigning, to charge up the atmosphere.
The Congress initially gained the upper hand by playing the local card and calling Kumaraswamy an outsider. It also accused Kumaraswamy of dumping secular values to join hands with the BJP. The JDS and Kumaraswamy are playing the emotional card, saying this election victory will bail him out of the political crisis, which seems to have touched the voters. He had filed his nomination papers after undergoing a third cardiac surgery. For the former CM, this election is a do-or-die battle for his own political survival, and to salvage his party from an existential crisis.
Apart from his efforts to prove his credibility as the most farmer-friendly chief minister the state has seen, there is a broad hint that he could be inducted into the Narendra Modi cabinet, which is also helping his cause. He also drives home the point that even if the Congress candidate wins, it is inconsequential as Modi is sure of returning to power, as predicted by a number of surveys.
Kumaraswamy, capitalising on the popularity of the Gowda family and its Vokkaliga connect, besides his rapport as two-time chief minister, is also reaching out to BJP leaders and cadres. The JDS-BJP alliance has made dry irrigation canals, sugarcane fields and farm sector losses the major issues to reach out to the farming community in this agrarian constituency.
The Congress, under the leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, is leading the charge with an appeal to defeat Kumaraswamy for dumping secular values for power. Congress candidate and businessman Venkataraman Gowda (Star Chandru) is playing the local card, claiming he is a commoner who is keen to serve the people of his district.
The Congress, with seven sitting MLAs and three MLCs, is confident of repeating the assembly election performance that was supported by Vokkaligas and other communities, including Muslims, Dalits and backwards.Sandalwood star Darshan’s active campaigning has also added star power to Congress candidate Star Chandru. Rame Gowda said they are happy that Congress has assured them it would waive farm loans and give legal cover to Minimum Support Price.
