Karnataka BJP spurns 'I scratch your back you scratch mine' policy

Politicians in Karnataka have often been accused of, "you scratch my back, I scratch yours."

However the list released by the BJP suggests that it wants to take the fight up to the big weeks. The two constituencies, Varuna and Kanakapura being fought by Congress leaders, Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar would normally witness dummy candidates being fielded.

The first list of the BJP clearly shows that it is not interested in giving the Congress a walkover in these two seats. It has fielded senior leaders, V Somanna from Varuna and R Ashoka from Kanakapura.

Experts OneIndia spoke with said the going may be tough for both the BJP leaders. However it remains to be seen how many votes they will be able to cut into. If the two BJP leaders manage to do that then the gamble would pay off. However the fact that both these leaders have been fielded from two constituencies also goes on to show that the party is not exactly confident of a win from either Varuna or Kanakapura, the experts say. The bigger message is that the BJP does not want the top two Congress leaders to have a cake-walk in these constituencies, the expert cited above also said.

Siddaramaiah has performed exceedingly well from Varuna in both the 2008 and 2013 elections. He polled 50 per cent of the votes in this seat. In the 2018 elections, he made way for his son, Yatindra who polled 55 per cent of the votes. In Varuna, the highest the BJP has polled was 37 per cent. That happened in the year 2008 when L Revanasiddaiah contested the elections on a BJP ticket.

Kanakapura on the other hand is a Vokkaliga stronghold. Shivakumar is the strongman from this seat and he has represented this constituency thrice. Shivakumar's vote share in the 2018 election stood at 68 per cent. The BJP has however not managed to cross the 3 per cent mark.

Both Somanna and Ashoka have expressed confidence that they will put up a good show in the two seats. Somanna said that Varuna is not new to him. I have years of contact, but as much as Siddaramaiah. I will do my work, he said.

Ashoka on the other hand said that the decision had come as a surprise. I will do whatever the party has asked of me as I am a disciplined soldier, he said.