SHIVAMOGGA: Once known as the ‘powerhouse’ of Karnataka, Shimoga has alternated between spurts of development and years of decay. While the once powerful district, part of the Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency, is now seeing a slowdown in industrial growth, development of civic amenities has remained steady. And in Shimoga, Modi is not the only person people attribute development to. BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa is hailed by many as the person responsible for scenic lakes and developed roads in many parts of the constituency. 

In Shikaripura taluk, Yeddyurappa’s hometown, people enjoy taking a brisk walk around the Huccharayanakere lake in the mornings. “He has transformed the face of this sleepy town. Within a short period of four months, his son Raghavendra managed to get a train for Shimoga and another survey between Shimoga and Ranebennur is under way,” said Basavaraj, a businessman from Shikaripura. 

Raghavendra became the parliamentarian for the constituency in November last year, when bypolls were held for Shimoga. Apart from local goodwill, voters in the constituency also display a nationalistic sentiment that could well work in Raghavendra’s favour. It is easy to find discussions on demonetisation, GST and other topics of national interest in the remotest villages of the district as well. 

“The nation comes first. Demonetisation has only hurt the rich and affluent. India actually benefited by the attack on black money,” says Krishnamurthy, a petty shop owner at Malalagadde village, between Soraba and Sagara taluks. It is this wave of pride in Yeddyurappa that the son of former Chief Minister Bangarappa, Madhu, is up against. In Soraba, the home turf of Bangarappa, auto driver Santhosh quips, “There is a certain attachment among local people towards the Bangarappa family. But the Modi wave will sweep the seat.” 

Yet, there is a feeling that sibling rivalry between Soraba MLA Kumar Bangarappa, now in the BJP, and Madhu would ruin the latter’s prospects. At Soraba and other places, talk is rife that Madhu, after significantly reducing the winning margin of BJP candidate Raghavendra in last year’s bypoll, did not remain in the locality. 

“He went dormant after the defeat. What one should look at is that he reduced the winning margin to only around 50,000 votes. This used to be more than 3 lakh in the past,” said JD(S) worker Chandrappa, at Shikaripura. Caste equations are also at work in this contest, as Raghavendra hails from the Lingayat community, while Madhu is an Idiga, both dominant. 

For Madhu Bangarappa, the Congress-JD(S) coalition is his biggest source of strength. Even in last year’s bypolls, the local Congress unit worked for him and this year, he has the support of master-strategist DK Shivakumar. Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and senior Congress leaders will also campaign for him in the next three days. “In 13 days of campaigning during the bypolls, I got so many votes. This time, I am confident of winning,” he said. 

It will not be smooth sailing for the winner, however, as there is a darker side to the rosy picture in the district. Irrigation is yet to reach areas like Soraba, Sagara, Shikaripura, though they are located close to major dams. The fate of Shimoga’s villages also rests on the solution to major issues like ‘Bagar Hukum’ lands as well as the K Kasturirangan report on the Western Ghats. If this report is implemented, 492 villages will have to be vacated, a decision not many politicians are willing to take. 

Industries are also in a state of ruin. The premises of the Mysore Paper Mills (MPM), which used to employ more than 5,000 people in its heyday, now lies almost empty. “We have machinery, raw material and workers, but there is no political will. There is no one to help us in spite of our repeated appeals,” an official said. 

The plight of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL), started by Sir M Visvesvaraya himself, is no better. The company, now part of the Steel Authority of India Limited, is struggling to stay afloat, from employing nearly 15,000 people at one time.