HD Deve Gowda plots to defeat Zameer Ahmed Khan

Bengaluru: In the run-up to the 2018 general elections where JD(S) supremo Mr H.D. Deve Gowda is fighting a do or die battle to bring his party to power, he has another task cut out for him.

Of the seven rebels, who cross voted during the previous polls to the Rajya Sabha, Mr Gowda wants to ensure the defeat of at least four members, while he is sure that the three others may lose on their own. Mr Gowda has plans in place at Nagamangala, Srirangapattana and Magadi to defeat the rebel MLAs. However, Chamarajpet is where he wants to focus knowing that beating Mr B.Z. Zameer Ahamed Khan, whom he groomed into a leader from a political novice, is not going to be easy. Unlike the other three Vokkaliga dominated constituencies, the demographic spread in Chamarajpet, an urban constituency will not allow him to run over the minority leader like he can do in rural areas.

In Nagamangala, Mr Gowda scored a point over Mr N Cheluvarayaswamy by winning the ZP seat by a comfortable margin during the recently concluded by-elections. Even the sympathy factor and the backing of the ruling Congress did not come to the rescue of sitting Nagamangala MLA Mr Cheluvarayaswamy, who had fielded the widow of the previous ZP member as a Congress candidate.

In Magadi, Mr Gowda has Mr A Manju, arch rival of sitting MLA Mr Balakrishna as the party nominee. Already, Mr Balakrishna is feeling the heat in Bidadi Hobli as well as Kudur, which was once his stronghold. In Srirangapattana, Mr Gowda has Mr Ravindra Srikantaiah, who quit the Congress after former CM Mr S.M. Krishna joined the BJP, as party candidate against rebel MLA Mr Ramesh Bandisidde Gowda.

However, in Chamarajpet, the JD(S) has not found a suitable replacement to fight and defeat Mr Zameer. In 2004, when Chamarajpet fell vacant after former chief minister Mr S.M. Krishna was appointed Maharashtra Governor, Mr Gowda fielded political novice Mr Zameer in the by-elections. He took out a 'Daridra Narayana' rally in Tamil dominated slums to ensure Zameer's victory. Three elections later, Mr Zameer has tightened his grip over the constituency.

Of the 2.2 lakh voters, 70,000 are from the minority community, while 15,000 each are Vokkaligas and Kurubas. There is a considerable Brahmin and Lingayat population along with Tamilians, Tigalas and other backward communities.

After Mr Zameer was suspended from the party, the JD(S) appointed Mr Chandrashekhar, a dalit as party president for this constituency. Even if the JD(S) wants to field a minority candidate, there is a tussle between Mr Altaf and Mr Imran Pasha and fielding one of them would offend the other.

If Mr Gowda wants to consolidate votes against Mr Zameer, he may have to surprise everyone with a programme on the lines of the Daridra Narayana rally.

This does not mean Mr Zameer is in a comfort zone. There are not many JD(S leaders he can trust in the constituency after he was suspended from the party as they are in touch with Mr Gowda’s party. Consequently, he is spending most of the time in his constituency. With Mr Gowda taking personal interest in Chamarajpet after a gap of 13 years, the election is expected to be interesting.