BJP, Congress locked in battle for Nanjangud

DC Randeep leads Flag March

Victory has become imperative for former Minister V. Sreenivasa Prasad in the forthcoming Nanjangud by-polls to salvage his pride after being unceremoniously removed from the State Cabinet. For this, Prasad is banking on Dalits, Lingayats and Brahmins, who constitute the majority of voters in the Constituency.

The Nanjangud Assembly constituency is adjacent to Varuna, the constituency of Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, and T. Narasipur, the constituency of PWD and District In-charge Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa. Nanjangud is considered to be the abode of Lord Srikanteshwara and is popularly called ‘Dakshina Kashi’ where lakhs of tourists flock to this temple town to have ‘Darshan’ of the presiding deity.

The constituency is now preparing to witness a close fight between Congress (Kalale Keshavamurthy) and BJP candidate (V. Sreenivasa Prasad). Historically, it has been a fortress of the Congress. After Nanjangud became a Reserved Constituency, Sreenivasa Prasad won on a Congress ticket by a narrow margin in the elections that were held in 2013.

Sreenivasa Prasad now wants to take revenge on Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and PWD Minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa blaming them for his exit from the Ministry. Prasad, a Dalit icon, has his own fans following in Nanjangud and is known for his pro-people programmes as a Revenue Minister in the Siddharamaiah’s Cabinet.

The BJP is banking on this popularity factor to pull in votes. Under Prasad’s leadership, the Revenue Ministry was effectively tackling the drought situation in the State and it was at this point, Prasad was dropped from the Cabinet.  

State BJP President B.S. Yeddyurappa has promised to put in the maximum effort to woo Lingayat voters as they are on par with Dalit voters in the constituency. For Prasad, it will be easy to garner Dalit votes by projecting his humiliation at the hands of the Congress. And it is for this reason he has called his pre-election campaigns as “Swabhimani Samavesha.” The former Revenue Minister enjoys support of all the communities and has 40 years of political experience.

Contesting against Prasad is Kalale Keshavamurthy, who quit the JD(S) to be the Congress candidate for the high-profile constituency. He unsuccessfully contested the elections in 2008 and 2013 from JD(S) and this time he is trying his luck with a Congress ticket. Kalale Keshavamurthy lost the 2013 Assembly polls by less than 1,000 votes to Prasad.

NANJANGUD POLL HISTORY

In 1957, P. Mahadevaiah of Congress, won the Nanjangud Constituency and in 1962, N. Rachaiah from Congress won from the seat. In 1967, L. Sreekantaiah, an independent candidate, won the election and in 1972 and 1978 K.B. Shivaiah of the Congress bagged the seat. In 1983, M. Mahadev alias Benki Mahadev from the Congress won the elections and in 1985, the seat was wrested by D.T. Jayakumar from the Janata Dal.

In 1989, M. Mahadev of Congress avenged his 1985 defeat by trouncing D.T. Jayakumar of the Janata Dal. In the election that was conducted in 1994 D.T. Jayakumar won by a big margin of over 56,000 votes. Again in 1999, M. Mahadev from Congress defeated D.T. Jayakumar. In the 2004 elections, D.T. Jayakumar defeated M. Mahadev of the Congress and in the 2008 elections, V. Sreenivasa Prasad from Congress won the elections. He was re-elected in 2013.

NEERAJ PATIL CAMPAIGNS FOR PRASAD

Former Mayor of Lambeth in the United Kingdom Dr. Neeraj Patil is canvassing for Sreenivasa Prasad. He said that he knew Prasad since a long time and he would campaign for him.

Touring villages including Badanavalu, Devanoor and surrounding places, Patil interacted with the people and discussed about the government schemes and projects. Sharing his experiences during the poll campaign, the former Mayor said that voters do not expect freebies from politicians and instead they want politicians to create opportunities for them to lead a respectable life.

On Indian Government, Neeraj of London of Basaveshwara Statue fame, said that he admired Prime Minister Narendra Modi and appreciated the demonetisation move.