Facing Rebellion, BJP Nominee Files His Papers for Shivamogga Seat

Bengaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) consensus nominee B.Y. Raghavendra on Thursday filed his nominations to contest the ensuing Shivamogga Lok Sabha election where he is facing rebellion from his senior party man and former Deputy Chief Minister K.S. Eshwarappa who has also entered the fray as an independent nominee. The Congress party has fielded Geeta Shivarajkumar, daughter of late Chief Minister S. Bangarappa.

Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat has been a stronghold of the BJP and its nominees won in 1998 when Ayanur Manjunath was the nominee, later former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa won the seat as BJP nominee in 2004. In 2005, Bangarappa switched sides and won the Shivamogga seat as a Samajwadi Party nominee.

However, the BJP made a comeback in the Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat when B.Y. Raghavendra, son of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, won against S. Bangarappa in the 2009 Shivamogga Lok Sabha election. In 2014, B.S. Yediyurappa won the Shivamogga seat and in the 2018 bye-election, his son Raghavendra won the seat and also retained the seat in the 2019 election.

But, in the ensuing election, Raghavendra is hit by rebellion from his senior party leader K.S. Eshwarappa who is an independent nominee in Shivamogga seat. Eshwarappa had lashed at Yediyurappa and accused him of conducting ‘dynastic’ politics in Shivamogga. since his son has been re-nominated for Shivamogga seat while his other son B.Y. Vijayendra is the State BJP Chief and also an MLA representing Shikaripura seat.

Eshwarappa was annoyed after his son Kantesh was denied a BJP ticket to contest from Haveri Lok Sabha seat and a disgruntled Eshwarappa announced to fight the Shivamogga seat against BJP nominee Raghavendra and exuded confidence that Raghavendra would be defeated in the poll.

For Congress nominee Geeta Shivarajkumar, wife of cine actor Shivarajkumar, it is her second try in Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat. Her first contest as JDS nominee in 2014 was unsuccessful and she had to face former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa in the poll fray and finished third in the contest.

In the 2018 Shivamogga Lok Sabha seat, Geeta’s brother Madhu Bangarappa, now Minister for Primary and Secondary Education has fought the parliamentary election from Shivamogga and ended up losing against BJP nominee B.Y. Raghavendra of BJP. Again, he lost to Raghavendra in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

The nominees are engaged in brisk campaigning in the seat and Shivamogga gopes for voting on May 7.