Mysuru:  Among the Assembly constituencies that will come under intense scrutiny in Karnataka is Chamundeshwari, the constituency that has got its name from Goddess Chamundeshwari, the presiding deity of Mysuru where former friends Chief Minister Siddharamaiah and current MLA G.T. Devegowda are fighting a bitter electoral battle.

After some indecision, the CM has finally decided to contest from Chamundeshwari, the constituency that gave him ‘rebirth’ in 2006 after he quit the JD(S) following differences with party Supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. When he was in the JD(S), G.T. Devegowda and Siddharamaiah were close friends and now they are political adversaries.

Siddharamaiah is giving up his sitting constituency Varuna, which was created from Chamundeshwari following a delimitation process in 2008. But Chamundeshwari will be a tough nut to crack for Siddharamaiah as he has to face G.T. Devegowda, a prominent Vokkaliga leader.

Devegowda has been openly challenging the CM as he is confident of backing from two influential leaders — Dalit leader V. Sreenivasa Prasad who has joined the BJP from Congress and former Congressman A.H. Vishwanath, who had fallen out with Siddharamaiah and joined JD(S). Both Prasad and Vishwanath are backing him this time to avenge their sacking and neglect. The BJP, however, does not have much of a presence in this semi-urban constituency.

CONSTITUENCY STATISTICS

Chamundeshwari has undergone some major changes after delimitation. The constituency, which comprises 2.89 lakh voters, has a strong mix of Vokkaligas and OBCs peppered with minorities and Dalits. It is the consolidation of these groups that holds the key.

Siddharamaiah first contested from the Chamundeshwari Constituency in 1983 as an independent. Since then he has contested from the seat on six other occasions, losing only twice – in 1989 when he was the Janata Dal candidate and in 1999 when he stood on a JD(S) ticket.

In 2006, Siddharamaiah resigned as Chamundeshwari MLA after being expelled by the JD(S). His resignation forced a by-election, which he then went on to win on a Congress ticket, albeit by a wafer-thin margin of 257 votes.  After the delimitation in 2008, most of the villages, which formed Siddu’s support base, were shifted to the Varuna. It was then that Siddharamaiah switched to Varuna, which he went on to win in the 2008 and 2013 Assembly polls.  

AGGRESSIVE CAMPAIGNS

Even before the election dates were announced, G.T. Devegowda made a head-start and conducted extensive tours across the constituency, criss-crossing villages and meeting party leaders and workers. Not to be left far behind, Siddharamaiah undertook a three-day tour of the Constituency recently seeking support for him.

As far as the BJP is concerned, the party is yet to announce its candidate. With too many aspirants, the BJP is spoilt for choice. The keen aspirants include N. Arun Kumar Gowda, M. Appanna, A. Hemanth Kumar Gowda, S. R. Gopal Rao, Nandish Bogadi, Kanya Shivamurthy, Alanahalli Puttaswamy, three-time Corporator M.K. Shankar, L.R. Mahadevaswamy and the list is still growing.

Although senior BJP leader and former Dy. CM R. Ashok who is In-charge of the Constituency, has said that the party will field a strong candidate, the BJP is yet to declare its candidate.

EMOTIONAL APPEAL

Siddharamaiah has begun his campaign, making an emotional appeal to the electorate not to ditch him in his last political battle. Recalling his famous victory in the 2006 by-poll in which he was pitted against Someshwarapura Shivabasappa of the JD(S), Siddharamaiah, during his campaign trail, has repeatedly appealed the people to give him one more opportunity to serve the people as he was greatly indebted to them. “Does JD(S) President Kumaraswamy know how many times I have won from Chamundeshwari constituency? I have contested from Chamundeshwari seven times and won five times. Does he not know that? Should I learn from Kumaraswamy?” This was the scathing reply given by Siddharamaiah in response to Kumaraswamy’s open challenge.

“Let Siddharamaiah contest from Chamundeshwari. We shall see how he will win. Siddharamaiah won by a small margin of 257 votes during the by-elections from Chamundeshwari in 2006. This was only because  Vishwanath and V. Sreenivasa Prasad had supported him. Don’t be surprised if he contests from Narasimharaja Assembly constituency by dispatching the incumbent MLA to Raichur,” Kumaraswamy had said.

ELECTION HISTORY: Looking into the past electoral statistics, G.T. Devegowda of the JD(S) won in 2013 by defeating the then sitting Congress MLA M. Sathyanarayana by a margin of over 7,000 votes. While Devegowda bagged 75,864 votes, Sathyanarayana secured 68,761 votes, M. Appanna of the then KJP came third with 16,799 votes and A. Hemanth Kumar Gowda of the BJP a poor fourth with 8,308 votes.

Following the revision of electoral rolls, the constituency now has 2,89,111 voters, out of which Vokkaligas account for 65,000, Scheduled Caste – 45,000, Scheduled Tribe – 30,000, Kurubas – 35,000, Veerashaiva-Lingayats – 35,000, Brahmins-15,000 and Vishwakarma – 15,000. The Constituency also has a significant number of Kodava, Kumbara, Muslim and Christian voters.

40 VILLAGES IN TWO DAYS

After deciding on the constituency, Siddharamaiah camped in Mysuru for five days and he has conducted aggressive campaigning in Chamundeshwari, conducting road shows and reconnecting with the people. Siddharamaiah covered 22 villages on day one and covered 18 villages on day two.

Addressing the voters of Chamundeshwari, he said: “I want to end my political career by getting elected from Chamundeshwari, since it was you people who sent me to the Lower House for the first time in 1983 and also gave me a political rebirth in the 2006 by-elections. This cannot happen without your support.”

He told them that after delimitation in 2008, he opted for Varuna, since Siddaramanahundi is attached to it. The CM has already won from Chamundeshwari on five occasions. If he is re-elected now, it will set a new record. After Janata Party leader Ramakrishna Hedge’s re-election in 1985, no CM in the State has been re-elected to office. In his tour, Siddharamaiah has been recalling 2006 by-elections to Chamundeshwari that he had won by 257 votes. He recalled how the Janata Dal and the BJP had “ganged up” against him. “Don’t pay heed to these political forces,” he said.

My last election, pleads Siddharamaiah

Chief Minister Siddharamaiah, who has clarified that he will be contesting from Chamundeshwari Constituency, has said that this was his tenth and last Assembly polls.

Pointing out that he had contested from Chamundeshwari seven times out of which he has won five times, the CM says that he cannot ever forget the Constituency even though he contested from Varuna in 2008 and 2013. Recalling his famous by-poll victory in 2006, he expresses the hope that the people of the constituency will not let him down. Asserting that he will become the CM again, the CM as he tours village after village, goes on appealing the people to elect him again so that he can repay his debt to the people of the constituency.

People are not fools, says G.T. Devegowda

JD(S) MLA G.T. Devegowda, who has been fielded again to take on Siddharamaiah, says that the people will not fall prey to the false promises of the CM. Pointing out that the Congress has lost the ZP and TP polls in the CM’s home district, Devegowda alleged that the CM was pumping in crores of rupees in order to bribe the voters.

Maintaining that the CM is facing the wrath of his own Kuruba Community for having thwarted the chances of Beerihundi Basavanna becoming the ZP President by altering the reservation matrix, Devegowda alleged that the CM has started to remember his erstwhile Chamundeshwari Constituency as the countdown for the Assembly polls has begun.

Claiming that he was always accessible to the people of the Constituency, the JD(S) MLA said that he has no doubt that the people of the Constituency will elect him once again as the voters are intelligent enough to see through the designs of the CM. Devegowda further alleged that the CM had not bothered to visit the villages for over 10 years and his (CM) recent village run is only a poll gimmick and nothing else. Noting that Chamundeshwari segment is a JD(S) stronghold, he said that he was sure of victory and the Chief Minister was certain to bite the dust.

Previous poll data

BJP ticket aspirants for Chamundeshwari

I  joined the BJP when I was 16-years-old. I have been working for the party since 24 years and every leader knows me as I am a committed party worker. I know most of the voters personally and now that the BJP is all the more powerful, I hope to get the party ticket.”

– Former District BJP President Hemant Kumar Gowda

I am a keen aspirant as I have been active in the BJP for over 12 years and I know every nook and corner of the Constituency. I am in constant touch with party workers and I am confident that party leaders will recognise my services.”

– Nandeesh Bogadi

I have been a loyal party worker since 18 years, functioning in various capacities. I have been working overtime to strengthen the party at the booth-level. I am hopeful of getting the party ticket this time.”

– Arun Kumar Gowda, Block BJP President

I contested against Siddharamaiah in three previous elections as a BJP candidate. I am in constant touch with the people of the Constituency. I am a strong aspirant for the party ticket. However, I would abide by party’s decision and extend full co-operation if it chooses to field a Lingayat candidate as the Assembly segment has a sizeable Veerashaiva-Lingayat population.

– M. Appanna

I am among the frontrunners for the party ticket. I grew up working hard for the party for nearly three decades and have the experience of organising the party from booth-level. I am the President of B.S. Yeddyurappa Fans Association and even the caste arithmetic in the constituency favours me with senior Dalit leader V. Sreenivasa Prasad joining the party.”

– N.M. Jagadeesh Gowda

I am in public service and I have won the Corporation election three times. I am a resident of the constituency and know every inch of the Assembly segment and the voters are enthusiastic about me contesting from the constituency on a BJP ticket.”

– M.K. Shankar