BJP caught between rebel & old foe in Shimoga

SHIVAMOGGA : Families of former Karnataka chief ministers S Bangarappa and B S Yediyurappa are once again locked in a battle for Shimoga Lok Sabha seat that votes on May 7. What makes this round different is the presence of BJP rebel and former deputy CM, K S Eshwarappa, in the fray.

Eshwarappa, a lifelong ABVP/BJP adherent, was denied a BJP ticket in last year’s Karnataka assembly polls. But this time, when the party overlooked his son K E Kanthesh’s bid to contest from neighbouring Haveri Lok Sabha seat, he rebelled. Eshwarappa believes Yediyurappa and his sons engineered Kanthesh’s rejection, so he’s contesting “to teach them a lesson”.

Speaking to TOI, he said he wants to rid BJP’s national leadership of its “illusion” that Yediyurappa and family are indispensable. He is canvassing Raghavendra’s Hindutva voters by telling them the Yediyurappa clan sidelined hard-core ideologues like C T Ravi, Nalin Kumar Kateel and DV Sadan anda Gowda. He is also banking on women’s self-help groups that have benefited from his family-run microfinance company, and the 25,000-odd Tamil ians in the constituency.

Good News For Congress

Eshwarappa’s rebellion is good news for Congress. “The more votes he takes, the brighter our chances of victory,” said Basavarajappa, a Congress worker in Shimoga’s Eesuru village. Party candi date Geetha Shivarajkumar is the late Bangarappa’s daughter. Her husband, Kannada film star Shivarajkumar, and brother Madhu Bangarappa, a minister in the Karnataka state govt, have been campaigning for her for a month.

The Yediyurappas have beaten the Bangarappas in Shimoga the last four times, but it used to be S Bangarappa’s fortress once, and he won four elections here. Last time a Bangarappa came close to winning the seat was in the 2018 by-election when Madhu contested as a Congress-JD(S) alliance candidate.

Geetha is hoping to break the Yediyurappas’ hold on the seat. She is banking heavily on the five guarantees that Karnataka’s Congress govt has implemented and the party’s promise to give Rs 1 lakh per year to women heads of families. “Her victory seems certain because the backward classes, scheduled castes and tribes, who have benefited from Congress’s guarantees, dominate this constituency,” said Naveen, a Congress sympathiser.

Geetha and Madhu have also been working relentlessly to consolidate the four lakh votes of their Idiga community. A few film actors, including Duniya Vijay, have drawn crowds to Geetha’s meetings and rallies.

MP Banks On PM, Father

BJP’s Raghavendra is banking on his father’s popularity among voters of all castes, PM Modi’s appeal and rapid development in urban pockets over the last decade. He is credited with improving the district’s highways, roads and rail links, and even opponents concede “Raghanna” is a worker.

For the Yediyurappas, winning Shimoga is key to maintaining their grip on the state BJP amid growing opposition, especially since Raghavendra’s younger brother B Y Vijayendra became BJP state unit president.

“We realise the importance of winning this election and the necessity of overcoming Eshwarappa’s rebellion. But my performance as an MP and Modi’s popularity will help me win comfortably,” Raghavendra told TOI.