Karnataka: the BJP bets on the stands to establish itself in the JD (S) Mandya bastion | Latest India News

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) worked to mobilize support in the Mandya district of Karnataka, about 100 km from Bengaluru, keeping in mind the zilla and taluka panchayat elections although the polling dates have not yet been announced.

BJP district leaders said the party was working to make inroads in Mandya, known as the “sugar town”.

“Until now, we have never gone directly to people, but now we are trying to reach every stall, publicizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development programs as well as those of the state government,” said KJ Vijay Kumar, President of Mandya District of BJP. “There are 1,794 stalls in Mandya and we’ve almost hit 1,400 so far. ”

Although analysts, political leaders and locals say the BJP is unlikely to wrest the district from the JD (S), they recognize the slow but steady rise of the Saffron Party in Mandya, which could help it. to reap profits in the future. .

Mandya and his Vokkaliga-dominated electorate mainly support the (secular) Janata Dal and his supremo, HD Deve Gowda. However, the 2019 elections in Lok Sabha, which did not take place entirely on the basis of caste, showed that the JD (S) can be defeated after Gowda’s grandson and then the minister’s son in HD Kumaraswamy leader Nikhil lost by far to the BJP backed. independent, Sumalatha.

The JD (S) won all seven district seats in the 2018 parliamentary elections, while the Vokkaligas, who harbored a sense of neglect during Siddaramaiah’s reign between 2013-18, stood behind the JD (S) led by Deve Gowda.

The BJP is considering more of this region (Old Mysuru) to help it regain power on its own in 2023, analysts say.

At the heart of the BJP campaign, at least in the district’s Srirangapatna taluk, is a mosque which right-wing groups claim is a temple that was converted by Tipu Sultan.

The BJP spares no opportunity to use the alleged story of forced conversion of Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysuru in the 17th century, to mobilize the Hindu support base.

A difficult proposition, analysts said, as Hindus do not provide a cohesive base of support and are fragmented based on caste and sub-castes.

NS Rame Gowda, former vice-chancellor of Karnataka State Open University, said the BJP’s sphere of influence was not high in the district given the caste factor, but acknowledged the declining strength from Congress to Mandya.

Congress and JD (S) share a bitter rivalry in Mandya and other parts of the state and disillusioned workers on both sides preferred to switch to BJP.

“The JD (S) and Congress will fight with either party having a slight advantage. But there is no place for the BJP in the upcoming Zilla and Taluka Panchayat elections or in any other ballot, ”said a congressional leader, asking not to be nominated.

The BJP won its first-ever seat in the district in the December 2019 polls when KC Narayana Gowda, who defected from JD (S), won the seat and was appointed cabinet minister for his role in aid brought to BS Yediyurappa to return to power. .

“JD (S) is weakening not only in Mandya, but also in other parts of the state,” said Professor Chambi Puranik, political analyst.

The JD (S) has often partnered with the BJP to provide support or to support the defeat of Congress, which is seen as the common enemy.

Sumalatha, the incumbent district MP and the only independent to ever win the state’s election in a general election, said too much emphasis has been placed on caste in political discourse and that most of the elections currently taking place are “question-based”.

“I think the BJP will have to work very hard to dominate Mandya and I hope they will because we need a third there,” Sumalatha said.