Mandya in Karnataka to witness mega clash between Kumaraswamy and Star Chandru

Bengaluru: The Mandya Parliamentary Constituency in south Karnataka is turning out to be one of the most high-profile seats in the state where the contest is primarily between former CM and JD(S) state President H.D. Kumaraswamy and Congress' Venkataramane Gowda aka Star Chandru, a close associate of Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.

The Mandya district is considered to be a Vokkaliga heartland, with the Deve Gowda family and the JD(S) having dominated over the years. However, Shivakumar emerged as the face of the community and succeeded in tilting the community vote bank towards the Congress in the 2023 Assembly election.

Kumaraswamy’s contest has been strategized to win back the Vokkaliga vote bank. With the BJP’s support and PM Modi’s wave, the former CM is hoping to defeat the Congress party in the Lok Sabha elections. The BJP leaders and the Gowda family are planning to put up a mega show in the first week of April during Kumaraswamy's nomination filing. Sources said that the BJP and JD(S) have sent a message to the community by fielding Kumaraswamy as the face of NDA. The BJP is making all efforts to win the south Karnataka regions.

The Mandya Lok Sabha Constituency comprises Malavalli, Maddur, Melukote, Mandya city, Srirangapatna, Nagamangala, Krishnarajapete, and Krishnarajasagar Assembly seats.

The JD(S) could win only one seat in the 2023 Assembly election in Mandya. Congress won six Assembly seats, and a Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha candidate supported by Congress won the Melukote seat. One Assembly segment is SC reserved constituency.

BJP has never won the seat and the Congress registered victory in 2013. In 1996 and 1998, Janata Dal bagged the seat. In the 2009, 2014 and 2018 general elections, JD(S) was victorious. In 2019, independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh won the seat against Kumaraswamy’s son, actor and politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy. BJP had then declared support for Sumalatha Ambareesh.

BJP polled 2.44 lakh votes in the Mandya in the 2018 Parliamentary by-election, raising hopes of the party.

The Congress is facing heat in view of releasing water to Tamil Nadu from Karnataka. The farmers of the Mandya region had to primarily bear the brunt. Though the issue of Cauvery River water has not been a major issue in elections in Karnataka, the failure of rain and release of water to Tamil Nadu are likely to affect the Congress party in the region.

Shivakumar, on the other hand, wants to assert himself as the face of the Vokkaliga community by winning the Mandya Seat and also the majority of seats in south Karnataka. He is all set to stake claim to the post of the CM presently held by Siddaramaiah for the rest of 2.5-year term.

BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra is stationed in Mysuru to resolve the differences between the party and JD(S) workers. On the other hand, there are talks about changing the candidate for the Congress party in the backdrop of political heavyweight Kumaraswamy being the contestant.

The BJP leadership is in talks with sitting MP Sumalatha Ambareesh, who wants to contest as the BJP candidate from the Mandya seat. She had warned of contesting as an independent candidate if not given the ticket by the BJP. Sumalatha Ambareesh has not issued any statement yet. Sources said that even if she decides to contest as an independent candidate, it won’t affect the prospects of the NDA candidate.

Winning the Mandya Seat with a huge margin has become a matter of prestige for the BJP-JD(S) combine.

Congress candidate Star Chandru is an industrialist and realtor. Deputy CM Shivakumar has clarified that the candidature of Star Chandru won’t be changed, and Congress is going to win the seat.