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Tuesday, the last day of nominations to the Karnataka Assembly elections, witnessed high drama, with political parties changing candidates and springing surprises in many constituencies in the last minute.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, as Congress candidate, filed his papers in Badami in north Karnataka. With B Sriramalu of the BJP also contesting there, the constituency is likely to see a pitched battle.
Varuna constituency, where BJP workers allegedly resorted to violence as the party denied ticket to BS Yeddyurappa’s son BY Vijayendra, now sees an unknown BJP face, T Basavaraju, competing with JDS candidate Abhishek. Developments in the past two days point to consolidation of non-Congress votes, led by JDS and BJP, defeating the ruling party.
Battle for Badami
The BJP, after some dithering, settled for Sriramalu for the Badami seat. The constituency, which has Lingayats, Scheduled Tribes (Valmiki) and Kurubas in equal proportion, is likely to see a tough battle between Siddaramaiah and Sriramalu. The JDS, which does not have much organisational strength in the region, seems to have given up in favour of the BJP.
The tacit understanding between the BJP and JDS is clearly visible in the constituencies of Varuna and neighbouring Chamundeshwari. The BJP is said to have allowed the JDS to have a free run to prevent splitting of votes. GT Devegowda, sitting JDS MLA from Chamundeshwari, is in the limelight now, as he has challenged his mentor Siddaramaiah.
Similarly, in Varuna, an unknown face of the JDS, Abhishek, is pitted againt Siddaramaiah’s son Yatindra. These are recent developments, and came after Yeddyurappa’s son was denied the Varuna ticket.
Setback for Congress
The ruling Congress suffered a major setback when actor-turned-politician MH Amarnath (Ambarish) declined to contest from his hometown Mandya.
Citing health reasons, he said: “I was treated in a Singapore hospital four years back and age is also a factor. Also, I cannot justify my duty (as an elected representative).”
The absence of Ambarish is said to hurt the Congress in the key Vokkaliga districts — Mandya, Mysuru, Hassan and Tumukuru.
The party had not only announced his name but also sent the nomination forms to his house. Many senior Congress leaders, including Siddaramaiah, had tried to convince him, but he stuck to his decision.
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