The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Siddaramaiah has quite a formidable task ahead of him

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Friday, Nov 24, 2006
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Siddaramaiah has quite a formidable task ahead of him

Govind D. Belgaumkar

He has to persuade non-Congress voters to back him

BANGALORE: Siddaramaiah's supporters will be doing something they have never done before when they cast their ballots in the Chamundeshwari Assembly byelection on December 4 because this the first time he is contesting as a Congress candidate.

Traditionally, the former Deputy Chief Minister has been associated with the anti-Congress forces, winning four of the six elections he has contested from this constituency so far.

Now his supporters are being asked to endorse the shift in Mr. Siddaramaiah's political loyalties.

Personal following

Mr. Siddaramaiah has a strong personal following in the constituency. Though die-hard followers will vote for him irrespective of the party he represents, statistics show that in the last six Assembly elections from 1983 onwards, the Chamundeshwari constituency has been an anti-Congress bastion. The Congress support base has dwindled over the years. Consequently, Mr. Siddaramaiah has the formidable task of persuading hitherto non-Congress voters to support the party. The Congress has never got more votes than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) put together. The BJP became a serious player in the constituency only in the last three elections, from 1995.

Two wins for Congress

The Congress has, however, won the seat twice since 1983. That was in 1989 and l999 when the split in the anti-Congress votes proved advantageous to it. In 1989, the Congress secured 33.14 per cent of the votes polled as against 57 per cent secured by the JD(S) and the BJP. The Congress won with a majority of more than 6,000 votes. A decade later, in 1999, the Congress got 34.30 per cent of the votes polled as against 58 per cent secured by the JD(S) and the BJP, which contested separately. The victory margin for the Congress was just a little over 8,000 votes.

In a constituency where there are over 2 lakh voters, Mr. Siddaramaiah may require additional support if he is to neutralise the advantage of the BJP and the JD(S) alliance.

The task is by no means easy with the JD(S), led by the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, going all out to stop Mr. Siddaramaiah in his tracks.

Also, he has to ward off efforts by disgruntled elements in the Congress who do not want him to win.

Banking on caste factor

But Mr. Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the backward Kuruba community, will be banking on the caste factor. A factor in his favour is the presence of A.S. Guruswamy, the Janata Dal (United) candidate, who is also a leader with a sizeable following in the constituency.

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