Bommai could turn BJP’s fortunes in slippery Old Mysore region 

BENGALURU : Winning the 2023 elections definitely tops the BJP’s agenda today. The party is known to be on slippery ground in Old Mysore, and some party leaders have expressed concern that it doesn’t have winning candidates in 90-100 constituencies, where its support base is insignificant.

In such a scenario, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, who started his career in the Janata Parivar, could turn the party’s fortunes around in this belt. Bommai’s long years spent in the Janata Party, under the tutelage of the grand old man of Karnataka politics H D Deve Gowda, appears to be coming in handy.

While his father S R Bommai too had served as chief minister, and also as Janata Dal national president, Basavaraj cut his teeth as parliamentary secretary to then chief minister J H Patel. Soon after, he became an MLC and after Deve Gowda demitted office as prime minister, Basavaraj was his shadow and developed deep political insights into the politics of South Karnataka.

It is Basavaraj Bommai’s study of Old Mysore which has given him a certain proximity with the JDS leadership, and his familiarity with areas where JDS has a particularly strong presence is helping him chalk out a programme to re-establish BJP rule in 2023. This game plan appears to be the strategy for the party to do well in Old Mysore in the remaining 10 months, and sweep the BJP back to power. He has prepared an elaborate list of areas they need to focus on, called the ‘C list’. 

Home Minister Amit Shah, president J P Nadda and Gen-Sec Arun Singh have time and again stressed the need to strengthen the BJP here to cross the important 113-mark. Experts say that Old Mysore is one area where even the party’s biggest leader from Karnataka, B S Yediyurappa, could not ensure them victory.

Scores of JDS, Cong workers from HD Kote join BJP
Mysuru: To improve its prospects in the Mysuru region ahead of the Assembly polls, BJP is going all out to poach leaders and workers from other parties. Scores of JDS and Congress leaders and workers from HD Kote joined the saffron brigade in an event held at the BJP office here on Sunday a day after several former MLAs joined the BJP in Bengaluru. BJP leader and Chairman of gove­rnment-run Jungle Lodges and Resorts App­anna welcomed the new entrants in the presence of Mysuru-Kodagu MP Pratap Simha and city BJP unit president Srivatsa. Appanna exuded conf­idence of winning the HD Kote ST reserved seat if he is fielded from BJP. “I have been in-charge of HD Kote taluk for the last 2 years and visited 34 villages covering 284 booths,” he said.