BENGALURU: Two Vokkaliga leaders in the fray in Vijaynagar assembly constituency, the community’s bastion in Bengaluru city, have turned the electoral battle into a straight duel. While housing minister and sitting MLA M
Krishnappa from
Congress is hoping for a hat-trick, BJP’s H Ravindra is confident of making a breakthrough.
Businessman NE Paramashiva of JD(S) is seen as lacking the heft to match the duo, notwithstanding his party’s pro-Vokkaliga credentials.
Vijaynagar is strategically placed in Vokkaliga politics. It houses the administrative office of the Adichunchanagiri Mutt of Vokkaligas.
Krishnappa’s supporters claim their leader will get most of the Vokkaliga votes which comprise 25% of Vijaynagar’s 3 lakh electorate. Their confidence stems from his huge victories in the past two elections. Ravindra has his own take: “Both Krishnappa and I are Vokkaligas. It is unlikely that Vokkaliga votes will consolidate in favour of the Congress, unlike in the past when Krishnappa faced non-Vokkaliga candidates.”
Ravindra was defeated by Krishnappa’s son
Priya Krishna in neighbouring Govindarajnagar constituency in 2013. Though Ravindra claims he sought a change in the seat hoping for a turnaround in his fortunes, the move appears to be part of an effort to split Krishnappa’s Vokkaliga base. Incidentally, JD(S) candidate Paramashiva is also a Vokkaliga. Ravindra feels he’ll benefit from the anti-incumbency factor against Krishnappa.
Lingayats (9%), Kurubas (15%), Muslims (12%) and OBCs (25%) also have significant presence in the constituency. Krishnappa’s supporters are confident that Siddaramaiah’s leadership will fetch him Kuruba votes, while Lingayats will vote for him because of the Congress government granting the community the religious minority status.
Krishnappa, however, believes caste and community arithmetic does not work in Vijaynagar. “Voters cutting across communities back Congress,” he says as he addresses a gathering of Jain voters Prasanna theatre on Magadi Road. He promises safety and security to Jains, who account for more than 5,000 votes in the constituency. His list of achievements includes whitetopping of roads, reliable supply of drinking water and security measures such as installation of CCTV cameras.
There is a pattern to how Vijaynagar votes. The constituency backs Congress in assembly elections and swings to the other extreme in BBMP and parliamentary polls and votes for
BJP.
A year after Krishnappa won Vijaynagar in the 2013 assembly polls with a margin of 35,000 votes, BJP’s Ananth Kumar got a lead of 23,000 votes in the Lok Sabha polls. In the 2015 BBMP polls, BJP won six of the eight wards in the segment while Congress was victorious in two.
“With rival parties being accommodative of each other, results in Vijaynagar never come as a surprise. There is no reason to believe things will be different this time,” says M B
Adinarayana, a realtor. Ravindra though believes “lack of development works” will work against Krishnappa.