Karnataka Election: Seeing the Karnataka assembly elections approaching, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has laid the electoral board focusing on the old Mysore region. This area is being considered important for Karnataka’s return to power on its own.
Top BJP leaders also believe that improving poll numbers in the region is key to regaining power on its own. This region includes the districts of Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysore, Chamarajanagara, Kodagu, Kolar, Tumakuru and Hassan.
PM Modi reached Mandya
PM to inaugurate several other projects including Bengaluru-Mysore Expressway Narendra Modi A day before K reached Mandya, Sumalatha, who entered politics from the acting world, announced her ‘full support’ to the BJP on March 11. Sumalatha had defeated Nikhil Kumaraswamy, grandson of Deve Gowda and son of former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Prime Minister chose Mandya!
The inauguration could have been done in Mysore or Bangalore, but the Prime Minister chose Mandya. But a political analyst said, “Mandya’s voters are rarely swayed by emotional issues.” The BJP has been struggling for decades to gain a foothold in the old Mysore region, dominated by the Vokkaliga community, which is dominated by the JD(S) and the Congress. JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar belong to this community.
BSP MLA’s support to BJP
Of the 58 assembly seats in these districts, the JD(S) has 24, the Congress 18 and the BJP 15. The BJP also has the support of expelled Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MLA N Mahesh, who represents Kollegal in Chamarajanagar district.
JD(S) dominance
The JD(S) has six of the seven MLAs in Mandya district, a stronghold of the Vokkaliga community. JD(S) has three out of four seats in Ramnagar and six out of seven in Hassan. The JD(S) has four out of 11 seats in Mysore, while the Congress has four and the BJP three.
BJP came to power in Karnataka four times and each time it emerged as the single largest party, but could not muster the majority figure. However, the BJP made an impressive performance in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by winning 25 out of 28 seats.
