After two weeks of no-holds-barred campaigning, all eyes are now on the byelection on Tuesday to Sira and Rajarajeshwarinagar Assembly constituencies in Karnataka. It is a potential launch pad for four candidates of three major parties making their electoral debut.
As far as the parties go, it is important for the ruling BJP even though it enjoys a comfortable majority in the Assembly. The election happening amid the pandemic will be a test of Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa’s popularity as he is facing criticism on many fronts over his handling of the COVID-19 crisis and the State’s economy.
Meanwhile, it is crucial for the Congress and the JD(S) to retain their hold in the constituencies they had won in 2018. It is also important for them in terms of a perception change in the coming elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike as well as the gram panchayats, though the latter will be held on non-party lines.
The poll outcome would also set the tone for the upcoming byelections to Belagavi Lok Sabha seat and Basavakalyan and Maski Assembly seats.
Former allies — Congress and JD(S) — have gone their separate ways in Sira and R.R. Nagar, eyeing votes in the largely Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies and accusing each other on several issues.
This byelection is the first major test for Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar, who is leading the party for the first time in polls since taking over the State unit. Victory in both segments would help him establish his authority in a party, which is otherwise seen as faction-ridden. This is also the first election to Randeep Surjewala, who has been appointed All-India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of Karnataka.
As many leaders have deserted the JD(S) in the past couple of years, the bypolls will give an indication of the party’s strength in Sira and R.R. Nagar. With both its candidates making their electoral debut, the party is relying heavily on its traditional voters to win the elections.
Prestige battle
Largely seen as a triangular fight, the byelection in Sira will be a battle of prestige for all three major parties. The JD(S) campaign was powered by former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who managed to inspire the party cadre. Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy led the campaign in R.R. Nagar.
The JD(S) has fielded Ammajamma, wife of the late MLA B. Sathyanarayana, in Sira. In 2018, Sathyanarayana defeated T.B. Jayachandra (Congress) by a margin of over 10,000 votes. Mr. Jayachandra and political novice Rajesh Gowda (BJP) are the two other major candidates in the fray this time.
The Chief Minister’s son and State BJP vice-president, B.Y. Vijayendra, camped in Sira after the announcement of polls and even took a pledge to repeat the K.R. Pet bypoll results for the BJP. For Mr. Jayachandra, victory would ensure not only his stature in the party, but also his entry to the Assembly for the seventh time.
Congress vs BJP
The R.R. Nagar constituency is seen as a straight contest between the Congress and the BJP. The “D.K. brothers”, particularly Mr. Shivakumar, have led the campaign from the front and asked voters to defeat the BJP candidate, two-time MLA Munirathna, who “betrayed his mother” (as he had once described the Congress) and forced the byelections. Electoral fresher H. Kusuma, of the Congress, is banking on women and young voters. The percentage of voting by women is likely to be an important factor here.
Apparently, Mr. Munirathna getting ticket to contest has not gone down well among the local-level former BBMP councillors and party workers of the BJP, against whom he had allegedly filed cases earlier. V. Krishnamurthy of the JD(S), contesting for the first time, is likely to split the Vokkaliga votes, considering both he and Ms. Kusuma are from the community.
In all, there are 15 and 16 candidates in the fray in Sira and R.R. Nagar, respectively.
