Chikballapur Lok Sabha constituency bordering the districts of neighboring Andhra Pradesh is by and large typical to the scenario of the adjoining region.The district is notoriously known for its extreme climate,depleting ground water table,exploitation of natural resources and at the same time the tireless efforts of the peasant community.
Irrespective of the adverse factors all along the farmers here go out of the way to get the maximum yield with the help of the minimum water they are left with these days.The district continues to occupy the number one position along with Kolar in the production of milk,grapes,silk,leafy and other vegetables coupled by horticultural products.
Chikballapur district was carved from the erstwhile undivided Kolar district on 23 August 2007 and by and large Telugu is the language for communication at home and elsewhere although the natives are quiet fluent in Kannada as well.
Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya,the legendary visionary statesman of the Mysuru royal kingdom was born at Muddenahalli of the district.His pioneering role in the development of the erstwhile princely state continued to be remembered till date.
Thanks to his foresight,the Krishna Raj Sagar(KRS) Dam was built in spite of no adequate resources in the treasury amidst stiff opposition by Tamil Nadu.The hitherto dry terrain of Mandya district on the way to Mysuru has turned out to be a cynosure for the onlookers due to it’s lush green fields boasting of Paddy and Sugar Cane among several other cash rich crops.Muddenahalli these days also has the distinction of being the location for regional headquarters of the state owned Visvesvarayya Technological University (VTU) along with the private Sri Sathya Sai Baba University.Nandi Hills continues to be the closest hill resort of the capital city.
Devanahalli Assembly constituency comes under the jurisdiction of Bengaluru Rural district but falls under Chikballapur Lok Sabha constituency.It also happens to be the birth place of Tippu Sultan,erstwhile ruler of Mysuru kingdom and now in public controversy for a variety of reasons! Marpadi Veerappa Moily,former chief minister is the sitting MP having represented the constituency twice continuously and is trying his luck for the third time against BN Bache Gowda of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The interesting note worthy factor which demands mention here is the fact that M Veerappa Moily incidentally happens to be originally from South Canara coastal district which is literally on the other end of the state.Yet the electorate have preferred to reelect him from here.In fact during the May 2014 general elections M Veerappa Moily struggled to register a win with a slender margin of 9,520 votes against BN Bache Gowda of the BJP while the tally of NOTA votes alone was found to be 7,682.
Although BN Bache Gowda was part of the Janata Pariwar and had the privilege of being part of the HD Devegowda coterie during the hay days of Janata Party/Dal regime in the state in his initial innings of politics,he joined the saffron party after falling apart.A former labor minister belonging to the Vokkaliga community of HD Devegowda is also a strong force to reckon with in Hosakote Assembly constituency in Bengaluru Rural district,which he represented many a time.Last time his defeat was manly attributed to the last minute decision of HD Kumaraswamy to jump into the electoral fray with the sole intention of ensuring the defeat of BN Bache Gowda.
Though HD Kumaraswamy came only to file nomination papers and had a whirlwind tour of the constituency once, he bagged a whopping 3,46,339 votes!Jayaramu,a local journalist exclaims:Had HD Kumaraswamy really intended and tried he would have also easily won from here last time.However the objective of remaining in the fray was different and not winning.By contesting and not bothering to campaign was part of the strategy to enable that the Congress candidate wins and BN Bache Gowda loses.
And across the constituency just like elsewhere it’s no public secret that HD Kumaraswamy by doing a great favor to M Veerappa Moily had also guaranteed himself that he’s the biggest beneficiary monetarily!This time around since the seat has been let out to the Congress one didn’t become a political pundit to come to a conclusion that the mood of all Vokkaliga votes is in favor of the defeated candidate BN Bache Gowda.
However Munegowda,Chikaballapur district Janata Dal Secular party president opines:Our party has resolved to support the Congress candidate as per the agreement of seat sharing and our cadre will also stick to the party’s stance.
On the reports of indifference of Dr K Sudhakar Reddy,Chikballapur Congress MLA,Munegowda claimed:Yes it’s a matter of fact that the supporters of the local legislator had abstained from campaigning on the pretext that the MP didn’t come to the rescue of their MLA in getting a berth in the ministry.But now they have agreed to work for the party candidate.When persisted about the possibilities of the swing of Vokkaliga votes to BN Bache Gowda,he insisted:There are reports about pro Prime Minister Narendra Modi wave among the youths of villages and the one+ lakh new voters.But what has the BJP government to the district in the last five years?He also had a dig at the BJP candidate:Where was this gentleman all these five years and who stalled him from bringing in new projects to the constituency.People are no fools to be carried away by the so called sympathy factor.
But when it was pointed out about the Congress MP’s failure in implementation of the Yettinahole lift irrigation project Munegowda clarified:There could have been a delay but anyway it’s on the way and mega projects like these are bound to be delayed for many a reason.The preference of the district people also looks quite amazing when it comes to voting to the state Assembly and Parliament.If the Bharatiya Janata Party hardly matters for the Assembly polls and has to remain contented by garnering a few thousand votes it’s altogether a paradoxical picture for the Parliament.
To add to the woes of the INC candidate Dr CR Dwarakanath,journalist turned lawyer cum social activist is contesting on the ticket of Bahujan Samaj Party(BSP). The backward district deprived of any industries worth mentioning has a huge chunk of SC/ST and Backward community votes.
As if BSP candidate alone wasn’t enough S Varalakshmi is the CPI(M) candidate.Bagepalli had CPI(M) MLAs’ a few decades before and is now a Congress bastion.However last time the party candidate had bagged 26,071 votes.
M Veerappa Moily is also accused of antagonizing the Balija community which also has a significant presence in the constituency.His own claims:If Vokkaligas prefer to vote the BJP and the saffron party manages to get 22 seats the very next day HD Kumaraswamy government will be toppled!So whichever way you would like to look at it turns out to be in favor of BN Bache Gowda.In fact he himself was reluctant to contest this time as he had exclaimed:I am tired of losing elections one after one and that too for five times.
However he had to yield to the party pressure.His son also lost from Hosakote,home turf during the May 2018 Assembly elections.So in that way it’s double sympathy for the family.If the political observers are to be believed BN Bache Gowda making it to the victory isn’t the topic right now.It’s the margin which is making rounds?
Manohar Yadavatti
