Bengaluru: With 48 hours to go for bypolls-three Lok Sabha and two Assembly constituencies-the stakes are high for the BJP as any setback triggered by the Congress-JD (S) coalition would stymie the party's strategy to win maximum seats in the state during next year's general elections. A 5-0 or 4-1 victory in favour of the ruling Cong-Dal coalition would spell trouble for leaders of the state unit as well as top leaders of BJP as it would signal a continuation of the BJP's poor show in bypolls resulting in decline of its strength in Lok Sabha. The saffronists have not been able to field candidates who could upset their Dal rivals in Mandya LS and Ramanagara Assembly constituencies though its nominees in Shivamogga and Ballari parliamentary seats and Jamkhandi may hold their own or even pull off a surprise win in Jamkhandi.
BALLARI
In Ballari, a seat held by BJP for 14 years, state unit leaders have maintained a modest campaign strategy which some of them believe would trick the coalition into assuming a no-contest scenario. The party leaders, however, have left it to fiery former minister B Sriramulu to drum up support for his sister Joladarashi Shantha to counter the challenge of "outsider" V S Ugrappa, MLC, of the coalition. The upshot: Congress leaders are upbeat about Mr Ugrappa's prospects at least in urban pockets of the ore-rich constituency.
SHIVAMOGGA
In Shivamogga, the coalition partners have been pulling out all the stops to defeat B S Raghavendra, and thus silence his father and state unit president B S Yeddyurappa, the main baiter of the ruling coalition partners. This Lok Sabha constituency too has remained a bastion of the BJP since 2004, but leaders of Congress and JD (S) are pinning their hopes on Idigas - who number 3 lakhs - to vote en masse in support of late chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa. Mr Raghavendra holds the edge as one Assembly segment forms a part of Udupi district, a region where the BJP holds sway.
RAMANAGARA
With no significant challenge from the BJP candidate, Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy would without doubt retain the Ramanagara seat for JD (S) as Congress leader and Bengaluru (rural) Member of Parliament, D.K. Suresh, has taken upon himself the responsibility of campaigning for her, and thus ensure a victory.
JAMKHANDI
BJP leaders, however, are leaving no stone unturned to upset the coalition with a victory in Jamkhandi Assembly segment and counter the sympathy factor in favor of Congress candidate, Anand Siddu Nyame Gowda. These leaders are trying to make the most of a controversial decision by the previous Congress government to accord a separate religion status for Lingayats and therefore deployed a significant number of leaders belonging to the numerically significant community to strive for a surprise victory.
BSY to Gali: Apologise to Siddu
Bengaluru: In a swift move to staunch any backlash, state BJP president B S Yeddyurappa on Wednesday asked his former cabinet colleague G Janardhan Reddy to apologise to former chief minister Siddaramaiah for saying the Kuruba strongman lost his elder son Rakesh because of sins he had committed. The mine baron who has not been invited to campaign,was trolled for his remarks. Campaigning in Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency, BSY frowned on the" personal attacks," saying "Mr. Reddy should apologise to Mr Siddaramaiah, his statement is not in good taste. Its indefensible".
