BANGALORE: The three politically sensitive taluks of Kanakapura, Channapatna and Ramanagaram in Bangalore Rural district, which go to the polls on December 23 to elect 17 zilla panchayat and 65 taluk panchayat members, are likely to spring surprises for the two major contenders: the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular).

Kanakapura

Forty-one candidates are in the fray for the eight zilla panchayat seats and 115 candidates for the 30 taluk panchayat seats in Kanakapura taluk.

The Congress, the JD(S), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) have fielded eight candidates each for the zilla panchayat and 30, 30,17, 21 respectively for the taluk panchayat elections.

There are 2,55,908 eligible voters, and many complain that their names are missing from the electoral list.

The stakes in the elections are high for Finance Minister P.G.R. Sindhia who represents Kanakapura in the Legislative Assembly and the former Congress Minister D.K. Shivakumar, elected from Sathanur.

The JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda was elected to the Lok Sabha from Kanakapura in a byelection in 2001. But last year he tasted defeat in the constituency at the hands of Tejaswini Sriramesh of the Congress who had the backing of Mr. Shivakumar.

Channapatna

In Channapatna taluk, which accounts for five zilla panchayat and 19 taluk panchayat seats with 22 and 57 candidates respectively in the fray, the scenario is deceptive. People are dissatisfied with the performance of Congress MLA C.P. Yogeshwar, a film actor. The political exile of the former Minister Varade Gowda, who deserted Mr. Deve Gowda and joined the Congress on the eve of the Assembly elections, and Mr. Deve Gowda's hold over the farmers are not good omens for the Congress.

The people also seem indifferent to the elections as over 25 per cent of the 1,55,497 voters are said to be affluent owing to the booming sericulture market. Marginal and small farmers are said to have a soft corner for Mr. Deve Gowda. They have not forgotten the killing of a farmer at Vittlenahalli over the "neera" tapping issue and the political developments that followed.

Ramanagaram

Ramanagaram, which is represented in the Assembly by H.D. Kumaraswamy, one of Mr. Deve Gowda's sons, has seen the JD(S) overtaking the Congress in terms of popularity.

There are 1,32,316 voters in the taluk, 45 per cent of whom belong to the minorities and 24 per cent are Vokkaligas. The taluk has four zilla panchayat and 16 taluk panchayat seats for which 18 and 66 candidates are in the fray respectively.

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