The Hindu : Karnataka News : Siddaramaiah out to avenge defeat

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 24, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Siddaramaiah out to avenge defeat

By Our Staff Correspondent

MYSORE, APRIL 23. The defeat he suffered in the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency in Mysore in the 1999 elections has not deterred the former Deputy Chief Minister and President of the Janata Dal (S) State unit, Siddaramaiah, from contesting again from the same constituency.

Far from betraying any anxiety over the outcome of the election, Mr. Siddaramaiah is full of confidence during his visits to the sprawling constituency comprising 3.21 lakh voters. But, he had displayed a similar sense of optimism ahead of the 1999 elections in which the Congress candidate, A.S. Guruswamy, defeated him by a margin of more than 6,000 votes. However, the Janata Dal (S) leader's optimism can be justified to a certain extent by the sympathy that a section of voters in the constituency have for him for his during the previous elections.

The former police officer, L. Revanasiddaiah, though a new face in the constituency, has been making steady inroads into the predominantly Lingayat vote-base in the Assembly segment. Unlike Mr. Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the Kuruba community, Mr. Revanasiddaiah is a Lingayat, a community that is predominant in the constituency. The estimated 70,000 Lingayat voters of the constituency hold the key to the outcome of the elections.

The BJP candidate, Appanna, who is contesting the elections for the third time in a row, is putting up a stiff challenge on the strength of the support his party enjoys in urban parts of the constituency. Almost 75,000 voters of the constituency reside in new extensions and layouts formed on the outskirts of Mysore city.

During the 1999 elections, the Congress candidate, Mr. Guruswamy, a Lingayat, capitalised on the discontent among Lingayats against Mr. Siddaramaiah. However, this time, not only has Mr. Guruswamy joined the Janata Dal (S) after being denied the Congress ticket, Mr. Siddaramaiah is also making a determined bid to win over the Lingayat voters by constituting a campaign team comprising Lingayat leaders such as Mallesh, which is visiting villages dominated by the community. "They no longer bear animosity towards Mr. Siddaramaiah. On the contrary, they recall the contribution of Mr. Siddaramaiah to the constituency during the Janata Dal rule from 1994 to 1999," says a Lingayat leader campaigning for Mr. Siddaramaiah.

But, Mr. Siddaramaiah, who has been extensively touring the State, has not concentrated on the campaign in his own constituency. Nevertheless, Mr. Siddaramaiah's poll managers are confident that the Janata Dal (S) leader's popularity will cross caste barriers. They work on the Varuna canal, construction of roads, electrification of villages, drilling of borewells and other developmental works carried out during Mr. Siddaramaiah's tenure as MLA are being brought to the notice of the voters.

The substantial Vokkaliga vote-base is being cultivated. A section of the Vokkaligas too were upset with Mr. Siddaramaiah during the previous elections for his perceived arrogance and preference to the Kuruba community in jobs. This time around, the Janata Dal (S) poll managers are optimistic that the community has changed its opinion.

The Congress party is also targeting the Vokkaliga voters in the constituency. Not only is the popular Vokkaliga leader in the constituency, Mavinahalli Siddegowda, a former zilla panchayat member, accompanying Mr. Revanasiddaiah during his campaign, the party has also managed to enlist the support of Paryaya Rajakiya Sangathane (Alternative Political Forum) of the Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency, which has a network of activists in a majority of the villages in the area.

The forum, upset with the political parties' failure to field a Vokkaliga candidate, had earlier threatened to field a Vokkaliga candidate.

Though its representative, Mahadevaswamy, filed his nomination papers, he withdrew in favour of the Congress candidate.

The BJP candidate, Mr. Appanna, from the Nayaka community, which also has a considerable presence in the constituency, may not have as high-profile an image as his rivals, Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Revanasiddaiah. But, the party draws its strength mainly from the urban areas of Mysore city, which form part of the constituency.

Apart from the upper castes in the constituency, the middle-class residents of Mysore city are expected to support Mr. Appanna, who managed to poll 45,855 votes in the 1999 elections. Mr. Siddaramaiah, who stood second, secured 50,907 votes, while the victor, Mr. Guruswamy, bagged 57,107 votes.

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