The verdict came as a shock to DK Shivakumar, while the BJP opened its account in Sira after trying for three decades.
The results of the by-elections of the Raja Rajeshwari Nagar (RR Nagar) and Sira assembly in Karnataka have shown two aspects: voter fatigue for a candidate can spoil all the efforts of a party that supports a person and a candidate People friendly can advance regardless of which political team you represent. Although the ruling BJP won seats from RR Nagar and Sira, these polls have learning lessons for the three main parties in Karnataka.
The verdict of the two snap elections will not turn the tide of Yediyurappa’s political fortunes unlike those of December 2019, where he had to win to convert his minority government into a majority to remain in power, but adverse results would have yielded place to Congress and the JD (S) to attribute it to the performance of the ruling party in managing three floods in the last 15 months and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Chief Deputy Minister G Parameshwara, who was in charge of Sira, said: “It is not the victory of the people, but of money. A part of the people was influenced by it. There is evidence on social media that the BJP is engaging in electoral malpractices in both constituencies, but the Election Commission did not take any action, ” he stated.
For Congress to lose RR Nagar’s seat by a margin of 57,936 votes to BJP’s N Muniratna, for whom this is the electoral district’s third consecutive victory, is a setback for KPCC Chairman DK Shivakumar and his brother DK. Suresh, the MP representing Rural Bengaluru. Lok Sabha. The candidate for Congress, H Kusuma, was the choice of Shivakumar and RR Nagar is a segment of the assembly within the Bengaluru Rural parliamentary seat. During the campaign, Shivakumar had sought votes saying that the electorate should consider him the candidate.
In addition, Shivakumar, who had drawn the attention of the high command of Congress for his electoral management skills in guaranteeing the victory of candidates in the past, was not successful this time, although he is now in command of the state unit. In reaction to the electoral setbacks, he said: “I did not expect my party candidate to be defeated by such a large margin in RR Nagar, while in Sira the performance was below our expectations. The party was sure to occupy that seat. They ask me that when I managed to secure the victory of the candidates in the past, why not now? I entered the legislative assembly losing my first election in 1985, but I have won continuously after that, ” he said.
In Sira, Congress sent former minister TB Jayachandra, who had been given the ticket nine times and won multiple times. However, voter fatigue for the candidate seemed to have set in, which had been pointed out to Shivakumar by the AICC Secretary General Karnataka in charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala. According to sources in Congress, the state unit chose to rename Jayachandra, who had lost the ballot box for the 2018 assembly due to rivalry within the party.
“This was the best campaign in Sira as we all worked together. Former MLA KN Rajanna campaigned as if it were his own choice. We lost the by-election due to monetary power and misuse of government machinery by the BJP, ” said Sira Congressional Campaign Coordinator SR Mehroz Khan.
The reason for the BJP’s jubilation is that it opened its account at Sira after three decades of trying. Yediyurappa’s son and BJP State Vice President BY Vijayendra camped out in Sira and did a KR Pet replay in Mandya district. The BJP won the KR Pet constituency, a stronghold of JD (S) in December. Both are Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies that were being represented by the JD (S) or Congress. It emerged that Vijayendra tried to reach out to all Sira voters in addition to CM party candidate Rajesh Gowda, a radiologist by profession, whose family has represented the constituency in the past.
In RR Nagar, although it was a power battle between Finance Minister R Ashoka, Shivakumar and former Prime Minister HD Kumaraswamy to establish their supremacy among the Vokkaliga community, according to survey analysts, it was Muniratna’s relationship with the voters which helped the BJP win. Most of the former corporate and BBMP congressional workers are said to have retired with Muniratna, when he resigned in 2019 to join the BJP.
R Ashoka, who is in charge of RR Nagar for the BJP, had told TNM that it was a matter of prestige and challenge for him, as the voting battle was fought by proxy between Shivakumar and him. Represented RR Nagar, who was part of the Uttarahalli assembly constituency prior to delimitation in 2008.
Between the two constituencies, the JD (S) had pinned their hopes on Sira, which was their stronghold, as secondary voting was necessary due to the death of the incumbent party candidate, B Sathyanarayana. The ticket was given to Sathyanarayana’s wife, Ammajamma, under the premise of a wave of sympathy, who was not there. Sensing this, the entire family of former HD Prime Minister Deve Gowda, including him, campaigned towards the end, but failed to get votes.
With the farewell polls over, Yediyurappa’s troubles will now begin. Yediyurappa can no longer postpone cabinet expansion. Lobbying has already started with aspirants like MLCsA H Vishwanath and R Shankar visiting New Delhi to meet with central leadership. The CM will have to undergo a shakeup removing some of the suspended ministers if it has to accommodate the hopefuls, some of whom are long-waiting seniors, in addition to its wish list of legislators.
The results of the by-elections did not appear to have deterred the Congress party.
“We will roll up our socks and prepare for the preliminary elections of the Maski and Basavakalyan assembly and the Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency,” Parameshwara said.
Yediyurappa during his campaign in Sira had stated that a victory in Sira would show that the BJP can win any constituency in Karnataka.
