Politicians of the three major parties in Karnataka are abandoning the cosy comfort of the state capital and making a beeline for their constituencies with the assembly polls hardly nine months away. These MLAs feel the charisma of their leaders or party strategies will not be enough to win them their seats. A BJP minister confided that the only way to overcome the anti-incumbency factor was to build a personal rapport with people. “In rural constituencies, people expect their legislators to keep in touch with them. You can no longer get votes just because you are charismatic or belong to a certain party. Local issues and how you address them are a better way to influence voters’’.
Former Congress minister D.K. Shivakumar is hardly seen in Bengaluru as he is busy in his constituency, Kanakapura. Till now, Mr Shivakumar has never lost an Assembly poll. He may face a tough opponent in P.G.R. Sindhia if JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda decides his working president is the right opponent for Shivakumar. Sources close to Shivakumar said the problem does not end with this. “There are Congress leaders like former MP Tejaswini Sriramesh, who want to spoil his chances. Even forest minister C.P. Yogeshwar may lend his silent support to Mr Sindhia to defeat Mr Shivakumar as the BJP do not have a presence in Kanakapura,’’ sources said.
Realizing that it is going to be tough this time, Shivakumar is devoting himself to his constituency, getting a road laid on his own, spending money to get a bridge constructed and making sure the villages get enough water. Another leader who is seen more often in her constituency, Yeshwanthpur, is power minister Shobha Karandlaje, who has got a booklet printed and distributed on the work done in each panchayat. She has started visiting the panchayats and is meeting people to know their expectations.
This time, Yeshwanthpur is not likely to be a easy ride for Ms Karandlaje with people complaining that she is not easily accessible. The close associate of B.S. Yeddyurappa will also have to bear the brunt of the anti-Yeddyurappa wave. In 2008, she had managed to win by a narrow margin of 1,500 votes.
It’s not going to be easy for Mr Yogeshwar either with his cabinet colleague M.P. Renukacharya with whom he has crossed swords more than once, in no mood to let him have it easy in Chennapatna.
As for the two BJP MLAs—C.T. Ravi and D.N. Jeevaraj—they do not have any particular worries but are concerned over the Udupi-Chikmagalur Lok Sabha constituency results in which their party suffered a shameful defeat at the hands of the Congress. Mr Ravi has even started organising hobli level sports events and `grama vastavya’ programmes to up his popularity in Chikmagalur while Mr Jeevaraj is seen more often in Sringeri nowadays.