The bypoll to the Legislative Assembly from Hunsur constituency in Mysuru is expected to be a prestige battle between the ruling BJP and the JD(S), while the Congress will make an equally determined bid to wrest the seat.
Minutes after the Election Commission of India announced the dates for the bypolls to 15 seats in Karnataka on Saturday, the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy declared his party’s determination to win at least eight of them, including Hunsur.
“We have to win Hunsur. I will set aside time to ensure that our candidate wins,” Mr. Kumaraswamy, who was in Mysuru on Saturday, told a party workers meeting.
But, the JD(S) will have a tough task identifying a suitable and winnable candidate for Hunsur.
The former Minister G.T. Deve Gowda, nursing a grouse against the JD(S) leadership, has ruled out the possibility of fielding his son Harish Gowda from the seat.
“The party leadership is in favour of fielding a local candidate. A decision on the candidate will be taken by Wednesday,” said Mysuru district JD(S) president Narasimhaswamy.
The prestige that the JD(S) associates with Hunsur is understandable. It was represented by the former Minister A.H. Vishwanath, who was accommodated in the JD(S) after he parted ways with the Congress and was also successfully fielded as the party candidate in the 2018 Assembly elections. But he switched allegiance to the BJP which helped facilitate the fall of the coalition government.
Mr. Vishwanath’s return to the poll fray appears remote as the former Minister had already announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Though a case was made out to field his son Amit Devaratti, a zilla panchayat member, a section of the BJP leadership in the district opposed his candidature.
A section of the BJP leaders is averse to the idea of fielding a Kuruba, which could possibly lead to a confrontation with the Vokkaligas in the light of Mr. Vishwanath’s resignation from the Assembly. Though it was rumoured that the former Minister C.P. Yogeshwar would be fielded by the BJP, Mysuru District (Rural) BJP president Shivanna clarified that no final decision has been taken on the candidature. The party will, most likely, choose a local candidate, he added.
The BJP candidate during the 2018 Assembly elections Ramesh Kumar polled just 6,406 votes against Mr. Vishwanath’s 91,667 votes.
However, H.P. Manjunath, former MLA, who is mostly likely to be fielded by the Congress again, will be making a determined bid to wrest the seat. Mr. Manjunath, who came a close second in the 2018 elections with 83,092 votes, has incidentally sought the blessings of Mr. G.T. Deve Gowda.
In a recent chat with reporters, Mr. G.T. Deve Gowda had endorsed Mr. Manjunath’s political strength in the constituency and predicted his victory in the bypoll.