Karnataka bypolls: In Nanjangud, Gundlupet, a battle of perceptions

With the divided perception, Nanjangud bypoll is set to emerge as a nail-biter that will keep political parties, supporters and enthusiasts at the edge of their seats till results are announced.

It is a two-way fight in both constituencies of Gundlupet and Nanjangud, but the perception divide in Nanjangud is right through the centre. The bypoll may be on April 9, but candiates are fighting a perception battle even before the people of the constituency cast their votes. While on record, the BJP as well as the Congress, claim to have enough support 'for a clean sweep', the ground reality is a divided vote bank. Communities, friends, party workers and even families are divided on who they will favour in the bypoll.

"We will vote for the person and not the party. Keshavamurthy has no family and will work for us as against a Srinivas Prasad who never visited our village after winning the 2013 elections. He is no doubt a Dalit leader but he should not have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. The BJP is a communal party and we will never support it," said Lingaraju, a resident of the controversial Badnaval village.

Standing right next to him, Guruprasad, another voter hailed Srinivas Prasad pledging unwavering support to him irrespective of the party that he is contesting from. "He stood by the Dalits and ensured that we got justice in the two-decade-old Badnaval case. He may have changed his party but his ideology hasn't changed. There is not a single blemish on him or charge of corruption. The Congress in Karnataka is cheating Dalits by first refusing to give Parameshwar a deputy chief minister post, by refusing to give Kharge the chief minister post and by dropping Srinivas Prasad from the cabinet with no valid reason. Siddaramaiah has gone to the extent of not giving Sunil Bose a ticket but imported a candidate from the Janata Dal-Secular. We will vote for the BJP to teach the Congress a lesson," said Guruprasad.

Guruprasad and Lingaraju, both Dalit voters, are mere examples of where rest of the voters in Nanjangudu stand as far as supporting candidates are concerned. Many are voting for the candidate while some are staying true to parties. The voters in Badanval, despite being divided over who they support, displayed expemplary reasoning to justify their choice. So much so that they are confident that the differences that have cropped up now due to 'preference' will die down after the April 9 bypoll.

Nanjangud keeps the suspense up

Most people in Badanval, Devanoor and surrounding villages in Nanjangud believe that Prasad would have won hands down had he contested as an independent. A sympathy wave that was taking shape for him broke away after he joined the BJP for most of his supporters. For others, the party he is in comes as no matter. His face will do the work. "The chances are truly 50:50. Apart from Prasad, Dhruva Narayana has a lot of sway in the region. The Congress' candidate may be Kalale Keshavamurthy but the fight is between Dhruva Narayana and Prasad," said Bhaskar B S, a voter.

"A common man cannot reach Prasad. He was a minister and never visited our village after he won the elections. He has worked for us, none will deny that but many do not approve of his decision to join the BJP," said B K Suresh, a resident. "Keshavamurthy was in the JD-S. He has relatives in large numbers here and may gain some advantage with that but will anyone else profit from it?" he asked.

Caste can't be cast aside

The Dalit voters in the villages are a divided lot but Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa's hectic campaigning seems to have managed to woo the Lingayat votes banks. "We have decided as a community to vote for the BJP. Yeddyurappa has come to us seeking votes and we belive that he will bring about changes," said Shivaleelamma. While she claims that the entire community (Veer Shaiva) will vote for the BJP, there are voices of dissent.

"If Srinivas Prasad wanted to do something for the people, he would have done it in the last 3 years. The government claims that projects worth Rs 6 crore have been sanctioned for Najangud but that is the Congress' effort and not Prasad's alone. If the ruling government is unable to do anything, what will the opposition do? We will choose the Congress because it has worked for our welfare," said D P Mahadevaswamy.

Indira Gandhi's legacy thrives

Her roti, kapda, makaan slogan has left a mark on Indian political history and former prime minister Indira Gandhi's relevance even to this day in an average Indian village stands proof to that. The situation is not very different in Devanoor as well. The Congress owes its popularity to Indira even decades after her demise. "We will only vote for the party that gave us food and job. Indiraamma helped us when we sought help and we will always be grateful. Our support is always for her party irrespective of who the candidate is. We believe that it will benefit us," said Shivamma, a voter.

With the divided perception, Nanjangud bypoll is all set to emerge as a nail-biter that will keep political parties, supporters and enthusiasts at the edge of their seats till results are announced.

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