Many eye hat-trick win

Many other leaders of the district are eyeing a hat-trick or multiple wins by getting elected in the May 12 Assembly polls. While Minister Tanveer Sait of the Congress is eyeing a record of fifth straight win from N.R. Assembly segment of the city, another Congress MLA H.P. Manjunath is aiming for a hat-trick from Hunsur Constituency.

Mysuru:  Come elections and many candidates are bogged down by anti-incumbency factor that many times leads to the defeat of the incumbent candidate. However, in Mysuru region, things are a bit different where there is a long list of candidates who have beaten the anti-incumbency factor hollow and went on to achieve hat-trick victories.

While there have been numerous politicians who have recorded two consecutive electoral victories, those who have entered the hat-trick list are D. Devaraja Urs, K. Puttaswamy, Azeez Sait, Tanveer Sait, M. Rajashekara Murthy, B. Rachaiah, Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa, H.S. Mahadevaprasad, H.S. Shankaralingegowda, K. Venkatesh, K.S. Nagarathnamma and R. Peeranna.

There are many leaders who have won double hat-tricks, ruling the constituencies for 30 years. But leaders like Chief Minister Siddharamaiah who have won more than three times and some persons up to seven times they have failed to achieve a hat-trick. Siddharamaiah has won a total of seven elections from two constituencies — Chamundeshwari (1983, 1985, 1994, 2004 and 2006), Varuna (2008 and 2013).

This article throws light on leaders from the then undivided Mysuru district and the present Mysuru district who secured hat-trick wins in Assembly Polls held since the 1950s.

D. Devaraja Urs

Former Chief Minster late D. Devaraja Urs, who championed the cause of backward classes, was the Chief Minister of the State for a record eight years in the 1970s. Urs, after getting elected for the first time from his hometown Hunsur, in 1952, won again in 1957 and 1962, thus securing hat-trick. He again won for three consecutive terms in 1967, 1972 and 1978, thus bagging the second hat-trick of wins.

Siddharamaiah

Siddharamaiah, who became only the second Chief Minister after D. Devaraj Urs from the district, is contesting from Chamundeshwari again after a break in 2008, 2013, when he contested from Varuna Assembly segment. Siddharamaiah, who began his political journey by winning from Chamundeshwari as an independent candidate in 1983, later won the constituency in 1985 on a Janata Party ticket. However, he was defeated in the 1989 Assembly Polls, thus losing out on a hat-trick.

In his political career, Siddharamaiah has contested nine Assembly Polls, winning seven times and losing twice.  Siddharamaiah who won as a Janata Dal candidate in 1994, lost in 1999 and again won in 2004. But after quitting JD(S), he contested the 2006 by-poll on a Congress ticket and won. He later switched over to the newly formed Varuna Assembly segment in 2008 and won, becoming the Opposition leader then. He again contested from Varuna in 2013 and became the CM. Now, Siddharamaiah has again chosen his old Chamundeshwari segment, leaving Varuna for his son Dr. Yathindra.

K. Puttaswamy

In fact, the first hat-trick record makers of the district were K. Puttaswamy and Devaraja Urs. A veteran Congress Politician, K. Puttaswamy scored a hat-trick from Mysuru taluk by winning in 1957, 1962 and 1967.

He again won in 1972 and 1978 from the then newly carved Chamaraja Assembly Segment. Puttaswamy was a Minister in the Congress Governments headed by S. Nijalingappa and Veerendra Patil.

Azeez Sait

Another politician who secured hat-trick of wins from Mysuru district is Azeez Sait who won a total of six times from minority community-dominated N.R. Constituency. Azeez Sait, who was a Minister in D. Devaraja Urs Cabinet, secured hat-trick by winning consecutively in 1967, 1972 and 1978 on a Congress ticket.

He won again in 1983 as an Opposition candidate and did not contest the 1985 polls. He however recorded his fifth win in 1989 and lost the 1994 polls.

He secured his sixth win by getting elected in 1999 on a Congress ticket. Azeez Sait, who is the father of Minister and incumbent N.R. Constituency MLA Tanveer Sait, passed away in 2002.

Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa

PWD and District In-charge Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa is another leader from the district, who has scored a hat-trick by getting elected for three successive terms from T. Narasipur (SC) Constituency in 2004, 2008 and 2013.

Mahadevappa, who has won from T. Narasipur for a total of five terms, entered the Assembly for the first time in 1985 on a Janata Parivar ticket.  He, however, lost in 1989 and won again on a Janata Dal ticket in 1994.

He lost in 1999 for the second time and won again in 2004 on a JD(S) ticket and in 2008 and 2013 on a Congress ticket, thus recording hat-trick of wins.

K. Venkatesh

Former Minister K. Venkatesh has represented Periyapatna Constituency for five terms, securing a hat-trick in 2004, 2008 and 2013. Venkatesh, who entered the Assembly for the first time in 1985 on a Janata Party ticket, however, lost in 1989 and won again in 1994 and lost again in 1999. Venkatesh, a Congress MLA is eyeing a fourth successive term win in the May 12 Assembly Polls.

Tanveer Sait

Minister and N.R. Constituency incumbent MLA Tanveer Sait is the son of late Minister Aziz Sait. Tanveer Sait, who won on a Congress ticket in the 2002 by-poll, which was necessitated by the death of his father, later continued to win in 2004, 2008 and 2013 Assembly polls on a Congress ticket.

Tanveer Sait is looking forward to his fifth straight win from N.R. Constituency this time.

K.S. Nagarathnamma

Veteran Congress politician K.S. Nagarathnamma of Gundlupet was the first and by-far, the only woman Assembly Speaker after State Assembly. Nagarathnamma was elected from Gundlupet Assembly Segment in the then undivided Mysuru District in 1957, 1962 and 1967, thus recording three straight wins in a row. Continuing her winning streak, she won again in 1972. However, she lost in 1978. She scored her second hat-trick of wins by getting elected again in 1983, 1985 and 1989.

M. Rajashekara Murthy

M. Rajashekara Murthy, a tall Veerashaiva-Lingayat senior leader, was first elected to the Assembly from the then Yelandur Constituency in 1952 and from T. Narasipur Constituency in 1957 and 1962.

He recorded his fourth and fifth wins in 1967 and 1972 and lost from Chamundeshwari Assembly segment in 1978, thus losing out on his second hat-trick of wins. He, however, recorded his sixth win in 1989 by getting elected from Chamundeshwari and becoming a Minister in Veerendra Patil-led Congress Government.

B. Rachaiah

A tall Dalit leader from the then undivided Mysuru district, B. Rachaiah secured hat-trick of wins by contesting from three different Constituencies each time.

In 1952, he contested from Yelandur, then a twin-member seat, in 1957 from Chamarajanagar and in 1962 from Santhemarahalli. He again won from Santhemarahalli (SC) seat in 1967, 1983 and 1985, thus gaining entry to Vidhana Sabha six times. He was a Minister in the first non-Congress Government headed by Ramakrishna Hegde in 1983. He was later appointed as Kerala Governor.

H.S. Mahadevaprasad

Late Minister H.S. Mahadevaprasad, who passed away on Jan.3 last year, has been elected for five consecutive terms from Gundlupet Assembly segment of Chamarajanagar district. Prasad won in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008 and 2013 Assembly polls and became a Minister in Siddharamaiah-led Congress Government.

Following his death in January, 2017, his wife M.C. Mohana Kumari (Dr. Geetha Mahadevaprasad) contested and won in the by-poll that followed in April 2017. She is now a Minister in the Siddharamaiah Cabinet.

H.S. Shankaralingegowda

In a rare case for the Mysuru region where the BJP is yet to find a firm ground, late H.S. Shankaralingegowda, who crossed over from the Janata Dal, was able to hold on to the Chamaraja constituency for four successive terms on a BJP ticket in 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2008, thus creating a record of sorts. After quitting BJP, he joined JD(S) and contested as a JD(S) candidate in the 2013 Assembly poll and lost to Congress candidate Vasu.

R.Peeranna

Another hat-trick Legislator from the district is R. Peeranna, who won from H.D. Kote Assembly segment in 1962, 1967 and 1972. Despite his hat-trick of wins, Peeranna was unlucky as he did not become a Minister.

None in K.R. Nagar, Nanjangud and Krishnaraja

There have been no hat-trick records in K.R. Nagar, Nanjangud and Krishnaraja constituencies. In K.R. Nagar, S. Nanjappa and A.H. Vishwanath have won three elections each, with breaks. In Nanjangud also, M. Mahadev and D.T. Jayakumar won thrice, but with breaks.

2004. Sreenivasa Prasad lost the record with his defeat in the 2017 by-poll. In Krishnaraja, S.A. Ramdas lost the record due to a break in 2004.

While S.R. Mahesh of the JD(S) is looking for his third straight win from K.R. Nagar, C. Puttarangashetty from the Congress in Chamarajanagar and R. Narendra also of the Congress from Hanur Assembly segment in Chamarajanagar district are eyeing a third consecutive win.