Channapatna: Who will win over the Vokkaligas? Toy town sees battle of the titans
Bengaluru: The electoral battle in Channapatna, a tiny town on the Bengaluru- Mysuru national highway, famous for its toys, is being keenly watched these polls as state Janata Dal (secular) chief, H D Kumaraswamy is in the fray here . He is up against some heavy weight rivals in Transport Minister, H M Revanna of the Congress and Mr C P Yogeshwar of the BJP
While the JD(S) leader is in with a good chance as Vokkaligas account for one lakh of the around 2.25 lakh voters, Mr Revanna, who is contesting reluctantly on the orders of the party high command, is depending on Dalits, Muslims and Kurubas. Being a Kuruba himself, he is confident of his community’s backing and that of the Ahinda voters , but is also banking on the achievements of the Siddaramaiah government to see him through. Helping him is Energy Minister, D K Shivakumar, who it is rumoured has entered into a pact wtih Mr Kumaraswamy to trounce their common enemy, Mr Yogeshwar, who won the previous election hands down on a Samajwadi Party ticket against Ms Anitha Kumaraswamy.
It is said Mr Kumaraswamy wants to avenge the defeat of his wife and Mr Shivakumar is keen on putting him in his place for quitting the Congress after making all sorts of charges against him and his brother, D K Suresh.
Unlike in the two previous polls, Mr Yogeshwar looks on shaky ground against his strong opponents this time and could be staring at a possible defeat due to his decision to switch parties at the last minute. Although the BJP candidate is banking heavily on his work for the constituency, especially filling up its tanks and solving the drinking water problem of the people, Mr Kumaraswamy could prove to be real challenge.
With Ramanagaram and Channapatna being adjoining constituencies, Mr Kumaraswamy, who is contesting from both these elections, is trying to woo the Vokkaligas and the minorities to win from both. With each candidate confident of his own particular strength and strategy, it seems like anybody’s game in Channapatna currently. Only the strongest, will of course, survive
