Bengaluru: Despite all the euphoria in the saffron camp, Nanjangud is not going to be a cakewalk for BJP candidate and senior Dalit leader V. Srinivasprasad. In fact the BJP thinktank seems to be worried over the strategy to be adopted in Nanjangud, where the Lingayats and Dalits make up more than half the electorate.
The tactic of the BJP has been to attack CM Siddaramaiah and his administration instead of targeting Congress candidate Kalale Keshavamurthy. But party leaders are now not sure if such a strategy will be effective enough to catch the imagination of voters or will be it prove counter-productive.
BJP leaders are also acutely aware of the recent Supreme Court verdict in the Badanavalu Dalit burning case. Many of the accused who happened to be Lingayats, were sentenced to life imprisonment and this is still fresh on the minds of most Lingayats. Will they therefore back Dalit leader Srinivasprasad blindly whom they suspect him of being anti-Lingayat? It is precisely for this reason that the BJP is heavily banking on party state president and Lingayat mascot B.S. Yeddyurappa to turn the tide in Srinivasprasad’s favour. To fight Srinivasprasad, a former minister who joined the BJP after quitting the Congress. the Congress found just the right candidate in Kalale Keshavamurthy who was with JD (S) till a few days ago. Initially, the Congress local unit was upset over the selection of a new entrant as their candidate for the polls. Now that the hiccups have been overcome, Mr Keshavamurthy, who had made a huge impact in 2013, has launched himself into the campaign making the best of the caste equations in the reserved constituency. In spite of contesting on a Congress ticket, he may get the support of JD (S) voters en masse as the regional party has not fielded a candidate in the bypoll.
In Gundlupet, the widow of former minister Mahadev Prasad, Geeta, is contesting on a Congress ticket and considering the past record of by-polls in Karnataka, she may emerge triumphant. The BJP may find it difficult to counter the sympathy factor which will no doubt work to the advantage of the Congress. However, the BJP seems to be more confident about Gundlupet than Nanjangud as they can always play on the failures of Mahadev Prasad as a minister.
Another factor which worries the BJP is the ruling party’s money power. “They distribute money to bring people to rallies. In our case, they come voluntarily for Mr Yeddyurappa’s meetings. The money factor is worrisome,” says a leader who has been campaigning in the two constituencies. But he is quick to add that it is a bit too early to jump to conclusions with polling almost 20 days away.
