Karnataka: D K Shivakumar to counter BJP's Vokkaliga wooing

Massive lobbying in underway to make D K Shivakumar the party's president or chief ministerial candidate in an attempt to consolidate Vokkaliga votes especially in the Congress bastion of Mysuru.

The Congress in Karnataka is a divided house with leadership crisis plaguing the party. While one section of the workers wants to enhance the party's minority, SC/ST, Backward Classes agenda, another faction is pushing the senior leadership to project a leader who will be able to consolidate major community votes. Massive lobbying in underway to make Karnataka cabinet minister and Vokkaliga strongman D K Shivakumar the party's president or chief minister candidate in an attempt to consolidate Vokkaliga votes, especially in the Congress bastion of Mysuru region.

Out of the two major communities that greatly influence the elections in Karnataka, the BJP has already managed to gain control over the Lingayat votes. B S Yeddyurappa, the strongest Lingayat politician is an asset to the BJP. While Srinivas Prasad's candidature in the upcoming Nanjangud bypoll has angered a section of Lingayat voters over the Badanavalu, the BJP is hopeful that B S Yeddyurappa will be able to maneuver over it. With the large chunk of Lingayat vote share under their belt, the BJP is now on 'mission Vokkaliga'.

"I see a pattern in the way BJP is working toward wooing Vokkaliga leaders in the state. Vokkaliga vote share is generally largely split between the JD-S and the Congress and now the BJP is vying for a piece. They have S M Krishna, they have the backdoor support of Ambareesh and we want someone to counter it. The JD-S has many Vokkaliga faces and we have just one prominent face and we want D K Shivakumar projected. We can not afford to lose our voters," said a Congress functionary.

The BJP for the 2018 assembly polls is attempting to make inroads into the Mysuru-Mandya region, a traditionally Congress-JD-S bastion. For the BJP, it is killing two birds with one stone. The stone is Vokkaliga wooing, and Congress and JD-S, the birds. Vote share of the BJP has constantly risen over the years in the region giving the party hopes of a victory this time around. While the Nanjangud and Gundlupet bypoll won't play a huge role in deciding the fate of the party in the 2018 assembly polls, a victory in either of the seats will give the BJP the confidence that they have done everything right to breach Congress and JD-S' bastions.

The Congress in Karnataka is a divided house with leadership crisis plaguing the party. While one section of the workers wants to enhance the party's minority, SC/ST, Bbackward Classes agenda, another faction is pushing the senior leadership to project a leader who will be able to consolidate major community votes. Massive lobbying in underway to make D K Shivakumar the party's president or chief ministerial candidate in an attempt to consolidate Vokkaliga votes especially in the Congress bastion of Mysuru region.

Out of the two major communities that greatly influence the elections in Karnataka, the BJP has already managed to gain control over the Lingayat votes. B S Yeddyurappa, the strongest Lingayat politician is an asset to the BJP. While Srinivas Prasad's candidature in the upcoming Nanjangud bypoll has angered a section of Lingayat voters over the Badanavalu, the BJP is hopeful that B S Yeddyurappa will be able to maneuver over it. With the large chunk of Lingayat vote share under their belt, the BJP is now on 'mission Vokkaliga'.

"I see a pattern in the way BJP is working toward wooing Vokkaliga leaders in the state. Vokkaliga vote share is generally largely split between the JD-S and the Congress and now the BJP is vying for a piece. They have S M Krishna, they have the backdoor support of Ambareesh and we want someone to counter it. The JD-S has many Vokkaliga faces and we have just one prominent face and we want D K Shivakumar projected. We can not afford to lose our voters," said a Congress functionary.

The BJP for the 2018 assembly polls is attempting to make inroads into the Mysuru-Mandya region, a traditionally COngress-JDS bastion. For the BJP, it is killing two birds with one stone. The stone is Vokkaliga wooing and Congress and the JD-S the birds. Vote share of the BJP has constantly risen over the years in the region giving the party hopes of a victory this time around. While the Nanjangud and Gundlupet bypoll won't play a huge role in deciding the fate of the party in the 2018 assembly polls, a victory in either of the seats will give the BJP the confidence that they have done everything right to breach Congress and JD-S' bastions.

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