Will Kichcha Sudeep’s campaign help BJP’s quest for tribal votes?

BENGALURU: Staying true to his promise, actor Kichcha Sudeep began campaigning for chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday, accompanying his ‘Mama’ (uncle) when he filed his nomination papers in Shiggaon, Haveri. He later addressed a rally.
It was a much-needed boost for the saffron party, which is facing rebellion over denial of tickets and a backlash from some communities over internal reservation.
Sudeep is a Valmiki Nayaka, a Scheduled Tribe, and BJP functionaries are hoping that not only his star appeal but also the community votes — they account for 6. 6% of Karnataka’s population — accrue to the party.
The community is heavily concentrated in districts of Chitradurga, Ballari, Raichur, and Davanagere and Sudeep’s campaign rallies in these areas are expected to boost party prospects. Since 2008, BJP has won most seats in the region, and it is crucial for the party to retain those seats if it wants to secure a majority. Karnataka also has 15 assembly constituencies reserved for STs.
Over the years, both Congress and JD(S) have made multiple attempts to lure the actor to their side, hoping to field him as a candidate and secure the community’s votes. In 2011, JD(S) approached the actor to contest the Ballari Rural byelection. In 2014, Congress offered Sudeep a ticket to contest from either Raichur or Ballari Lok Sabha seats. But Sudeep turned down those offers.
In the run-up to the 2018 assembly polls, JD(S) againmade a determined attempt to induct the actor into the party fold, even promising to make him an MLC and, subsequently, a minister if the party formed the government. But the actor decided to stay out of electoral politics.
Even earlier this month, Sudeep took pains to clarify that he is not joining BJP but will only support the party and campaign for Bommai.
But JD(S) and Congress already appear to be worried about Sudeep’s campaigns. JD(S) wrote to the Election Commission of India, asking it to ban screening of Sudeep’s movies and advertisementsthat feature him till May 10. The regional outfit claimed that it may influence voters, a plea which the ECI shot down.
JD(S) though has bitter memories of Sandalwood stars. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Kannada stars Darshan and Yash successfully campaigned for Sumalatha Ambareesh when she contested as an independent against Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
While B Sriramulu, Ramesh Jarkiholi, and Balachandra Jarkiholi are BJP’s tallest leaders from the Valmiki community, Congress’ Satish Jarkiholi wields huge influence over them.