Will “rebel” candidates influence election results?

Shivamogga, known for its lush green landscape and tourist attractions such as the world-famous Jog Falls, is witnessing an interesting contest in the current Sabah elections. In addition to candidates from two national parties, the BJP and the Congress, a former BJP minister is contesting as an independent candidate.

Braving the hot summer, all three candidates – Bharatiya Janata Party’s BY Raghavendra, Congress’ Geeta Shivarajkumar and Independent KS Eshwarappa – are looking to woo voters across eight Assembly constituencies. They are conducting extensive election activities.

Fortress of two families

For the past three decades, families of two former state chief ministers have represented their constituencies in parliament, except once in 1998. Former state chief minister late S. Bangarappa won his four elections from different political parties. Since 2009, it has been the turn of the BS Yediyurappa family. BY Mr. Raghavendra became an MP in 2009 by defeating Mr. Bangarappa. In late 2014, Mr. Yediyurappa contested and won against Mr. Bangarappa’s daughter Geeta Shivarajkumar. The 2018 by-election and the 2019 general election were contested between Mr. Raghavendra and Mr. Bangarappa’s son Madhu Bangarappa.

This time too, the dispute is between two families, Mr. Raghavendra and Mr. Geetha Shivarajkumar. While the BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s image and development in the constituency, the Congress candidates are campaigning on the five guarantee schemes implemented by the Congress government in the state and on the legacy of Bangarappa. There is. The BJP has the support of a good network of workers across the constituency. Mr. Modi also campaigned for party candidates in the constituency. Considering the large margin of victory in the last election, Raghavendra said he was confident of re-election. In the 2023 parliamentary elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 5.81 billion votes in eight parliamentary seats. Congress secured 5.04 billion votes.

The Congress campaign is being handled by School Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, the candidate’s younger brother. Geetha Shivarajkumar is accompanied by her husband, actor Shivarajkumar. He participates in road shows and election campaigns.

Influence of Eshwarappa

Besides the two candidates, Eshwarappa is also contesting as an independent candidate. He decided to contest after his son KE Kantesh was denied a BJP ticket to contest the Haveli Lok Sabha seat. Mr. Eshwarappa held Mr. Yediyurappa responsible for refusing the ticket and decided to contest against Mr. Yediyurappa’s son in Shivamogga. He hopes to divide the Hindutva vote and ensure Raghavendra’s defeat.

Mr. Eshwarappa has been campaigning to prominently display Mr. Modi’s photo, saying Mr. Modi agrees with the prime minister’s ideology and opposes Mr. Yediyurappa’s “dynastic” politics. His campaign has made the election for Shivamogga seat an interesting one. Congress candidates will benefit if he succeeds in winning a significant number of votes from traditional Bharatiya Janata Party supporters. But if Eshwarappa himself is a leader from the backward classes and attracts votes from the traditional Congress-supporting OBC bloc, the purpose of his contest will be lost.

many problems are going on

As the election approaches, some people’s issues are resurfacing. For example, hundreds of families who gave up their land and migrated to far-flung places in the 1960s to allow the construction of a dam across the Sharavati River faced the problem of their rehabilitation, which was never carried out satisfactorily. I raised it.

Rural areas derive significant income from the high-quality areca nut grown here. However, in recent years, areca farms have been severely damaged by leaf spot and yellow leaf diseases. Meanwhile, the Visvesvaraya Steel Plant and Mysore Paper Mill in Bhadravati city, which were earlier contributing to the district’s economy, are now in a dire state.

Over the past few months, cases of Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) have been increasing, leaving people in villages near forest areas worried. Even after deaths from KFD, the issue rarely figures into political debate. In addition, many villages in hilly areas are facing telephone network problems. Several villagers are considering boycotting the vote due to the delay in resolving the issue.