A contest between 2 former ministers and a sitting MLA in Karnataka's Periyapatna segment

MYSURU: Two former ministers representing national parties are pitted against a sitting MLA from the regional party. That’s in a nutshell is the scenario in the Periyapatna segment. Of the two former ministers, one has represented the segment five times from three different parties while the other has been elected twice to the Lok Sabha and once to the assembly.
In Periyapatna constituency, incumbent JD(S) MLA K Mahadeva, a Vokkaliga, is facing stiff competition from old war horses - Congress’ K Venkatesh and BJP’s CH Vijayashankar, both former ministers.
Venkatesh, a senior Vokkaliga leader, has won five times from the constituency from different parties i.e. Congress, Janata Dal (S) and Janata Dal. He became MLA for the first time in 1985. He was elected for the second time in 2004. A close associate of former CM Siddaramaiah, he followed Siddaramaiah when he quit JD(S) in 2006 and joined the Congress. Venkatesh got elected twice from Congress (in 2008 and 2013).

During the 2013 polls, the elections to Periyapatna was deferred following the death of a candidate. As Congress got majority during the 2013 polls, Siddaramaiah became the CM. As Venkatesh had scraped through with 879 votes during the 2008 polls, Siddaramaiah did not want to take chances and took lead in the campaigning soon after after he became the CM. Though Venkatesh managed to win in the 2013 elections, the margin of victory was by 2,088 votes.
Despite the loss, Mahadeva worked hard to defeat his Congress opponent, which he achieved in the 2018 elections. Mahadeva finally won against Venkatesh in his third attempt in the 2018 polls.
Vokkaliags form a dominant force in the segment, which has also elected Lingayat leaders predominantly because of the popularity of former minister H M Channabasappa. According to an estimate, there are 40,000 Vokkaliga voters followed by SC (28,000), Kurubas (40,000), ST (20,000), Muslims (16,000), Christians (15,000) and Lingayats (15,000).
Mysuru District Congress Committee chief BJ Vijayakumar, who has his roots in Periyapatna, argued that JD(S) MLA and BJP candidate are facing anti-incumbency. Janata Parivar has collapsed. Young voters, who are in large numbers, are favouring Congress led by Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar.
Mahadeva, who was chief of Periyapatna civic body before he became MLA, stated that he is seeking votes based on his work. “I am seeking wages for the services I rendered in the constituency,” he said.
BJP’s Vijayashankar pointed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in the constituency to argue that it is considered as one of the winnable constituencies in the Old Mysuru region. “Sympathy factor will work for me as I lost three elections,” the 66-years-old leader, who migrated to Mysuru from Ranebennur in North Karnataka three decades back, said. He pointed out that he is the only Kuruba candidate fielded by BJP in the entire south Karnataka region, including Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, and Kodagu districts. I am confident that social engineering will work in my favour, he said.
According to Swamygowda, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha Periyapatna taluk unit chief, the farm crisis is one of the major election issues. The farmer's income has come down and the support system is broken, he said.
VR Honnegowda, a resident of Kittur, wildlife-human conflict and tribal issues are the major election issues in the segment.