The contest between children of two former Chief Ministers and the presence of an expelled Bharatiya Janata Party leader in the fray has spiced up the poll scene in Karnataka’s Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.
It is for the fifth consecutive time since 2009, including a bypoll in 2018, the segment is witnessing a straight fight between the families two popular leaders and former Chief Ministers late S Bangarappa and BS Yediyurappa.
Known as the heartland of socialist movement in Karnataka, Shivamogga is a part of the ‘Malnad’ region.
The BJP has renominated MP and Yediyurappa’s son BY Raghavendra.
The Congress has named Bangarappa’s daughter Geetha Shivarajkumar, who is the wife of Karnataka film star Shivarajkumar and daughter-in-law of Kannada thespian late Rajkumar.
Raghavendra has been elected to Parliament from this “Gateway to Malnad” three times.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and in the 2018 by-election, he defeated Geetha’s brother Madhu Bangarappa, who is now a Minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government. Madhu was then with Janata Dal(Secular).
Geetha had contested from the seat on the JD(S) ticket in 2014 and lost to Yediyurappa by a huge margin. She had come third in that election behind Congress candidate Manjunath Bhandary.
Additionally, Eshwarappa, 75, has been campaigning vigorously claiming that his fight is not against the BJP or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but to “purify” the party in the state by setting it free from the clutches of Yediyurappa and sons.
He accused them of trying to establish dynasty rule in the party, by sidelining several Hindutva leaders.
Eshwarappa was expelled by the party for six years after he refused to bow out of the poll race.
There are some apprehensions about Eshwarappa eating into BJP’s votes, but party leaders and functionaries insist that it may only have “marginal impact” on the three-time MP’s prospects.
Along with his work as an MP, Raghavendra is banking on the “Modi factor”, Yediyurappa’s strong leadership, and alliance partner JD(S)’ votes getting transferred in his favour.
On the other hand, through his sister Geetha Shivrajkumar’s win, Madhu Bangarappa is hoping to avenge successive defeats his family faced in Lok Sabha polls, including that of his father 15 years ago.
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