MYSURU: The cultural capital of Mysuru city will witness a political showdown between the Ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP and JDS this weekend.
Both sides have been waging a political battle for more than a month ever since the alleged irregularities in the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation Ltd and Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) surfaced. The tug-of-war that started during the recent monsoon session of the legislature shaped into a padayatra from Bengaluru to Mysuru by the NDA targeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The Congress was soon to counter the
NDA march with its own Janandolana public meetings that were organised in towns between Bengaluru and Mysuru to highlight what the party called scams under the previous BJP government.
DyCM DK Shivakumar used it as an opportunity to take on Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy to take control of the Vokkaliga heartland.
While the NDA padayatra will culminate with a rally on Maharaja’s College Grounds in Mysuru on August 10, the Congress is gearing up to exhibit its strength on Siddaramaiah’s home turf a day earlier by holding a mega rally at the same venue.
Thousands of party workers of all the Big 3 political parties and scores of its leaders from across Karnataka have already descended on Mysuru.
Although the BJP and JDS will reiterate their demand for the CM to resign over the alleged scams in the ST Development Corporation and MUDA, the NDA will be compelled to rework its strategy to keep the issue on the boil after the padayatra concludes in Mysuru. On the other hand, the Congress, which has responded strongly to the allegations with the Council of Ministers advising Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot to withdraw the showcase notice seeking sanction of prosecution against the CM in connection with the alleged site allotment scam in MUDA, is anxiously waiting for the Raj Bhavan’s next move.
The Congress has extended an invitation to all the ministers, legislators, defeated candidates, and party rank and file to be present at the mammoth rally to send out a strong political message where Siddaramaiah is all set to present the case sheets of the alleged scams that happened under the BJP’s nose.
On the other hand, the NDA led by state BJP chief BY Vijayendra, LoP in Assembly R Ashoka, LoP in Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, Union Minister and state JDS chief HD Kumaraswamy, and JDS Youth Wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy, wants to prove its strength in Siddaramaiah’s backyard.
The NDA, too, has directed all its elected representatives and MPs from the state to be present at the rally that aims at branding Siddaramaiah, a veteran socialist, as a tainted CM. The BJP state leaders have even requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah and National BJP president JP Nadda to participate in the rally.
The rallies by the Congress and NDA may provide hints on the future course of political discourse in Karnataka as the parties want to prove their strength in the upcoming elections to panchayats, urban local bodies, and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike.
Hotel rates shoot up
The weekend is likely to be a nightmare for tourists as the majority of the rooms in high-end and budget hotels in Mysuru have been booked for politicians and party workers.
Prices of rooms in star hotels have shot up by almost 60%, said sources. Party workers from other districts have booked rooms in hotels on the outskirts of Mysuru, like Sriranagapatna, KRS, and even Nanjangud Road. Also, traffic jams are expected on prominent roads leading to the Maharaja’s College Grounds as hundreds of vehicles, including buses, ferrying party workers will enter the city.