Gundlupet: Who will Gundlupet vote for ? The widow of a popular minister who is trying to make the best of the sympathy wave or a candidate who was rejected by the electorate twice and is now trying to evoke sympathy by pleading for a chance this time?
The constituency on the Kerala border is not known to change its choices fast if the electoral record is any indication. In fact, Gundlupet has had only three legislators representing it over the past 65 years since the first election in 1952. While the first candidate held this seat for one term, his successor Ms K.S. Nagaratnamma won the seat seven times.
Her successor late Mahadevprasad almost emulated her bagging the seat five times.
For the BJP, it is a now or never battle in a constituency which has always stood by the Congress or Janata Dal. Party leaders have swooped down on the constituency highlighting the failures of the Siddaramaiah government and non-development in the last 24 years.
The BJP candidate Niranjankumar had lost by around 2,200 votes in 2013 when he contested against Mahadevprasad on a KJP ticket and by around 7000 votes in 2008. A victory in Chamarajnagar district where Gundlupet is situated, has always eluded the BJP which is why it is trying its best to open its account making the best of the Modi wave.
Srinivasprasad factor
Even Nanjangud BJP candidate Srinivasaprasad's clout could come into play in Gundlupet as he was elected to the Lok Sabha from Chamarajnagar five times. He enjoys a good hold over Dalit voters in all eight assembly segments in the Chamarajnagar Lok Sabha seat. During a recent public meeting in Gundlupet, Srinivasprasad took the battle to the Congress camp claiming Siddaramaiah was not ready to give a cabinet berth to Mahadevprasad! Can Geetha Mahadevprasad beat the anti-incumbency against her husband who reportedly could not solve the drinking water problem in the last 25 years? The issue came to the fore during the CM' s visit to Mallaiyanapura with people demanding filling of tanks. Nor do the villages in the constituency have good roads.
Caste equation
With the 80,000 Lingayat votes sure to be divided between the two candidates, the Dalits and the Nayak community could decide their fate. The Congress has deployed Chamarajanagar MP Dhruvanarayan and PWD minister Dr H.C. Mahadevappa to attract SC votes while the BJP has asked former IAS officer K Shivaram who is also state president of the Cheluvadi Sanga, to visit Dalit colonies to attract young voters.
The CM has deployed ‘master strategist’ and energy minister D.K. Shivakumar to manage Ms Geeta’s campaign. In the BJP, its party state president B.S. Yeddyurappa who is leading from the front visiting over 100 villages to seek support for Niranjankumar. With money flowing freely in the constituency, it looks like the contest is heading for a photo finish. For Geeta, a victory is crucial to prove she is no novice as the sympathy wave may not last till April 2018 when the next polls are due.
Total voters 1,98,815 lakh
Lingayats 80,000
Scheduled Castes 50,000
Nayaks 18,000
Muslims 7,000
