The newly asphalted roads touching all the three famous tourist spots in Hassan district have never been better.

Thanks to PWD and Power minister in the last two governments, H D Revanna, almost every nook and corner of Hassan district has a gleaming road and it is touted as one of the “achievements” of the scion of Gowda family.

Revanna proudly proclaims that compared to Rs 3,500 crore spent during the 5-year rule of the Congress govt, he got Rs 4,500 crore sanctioned for PWD when he was minister for 36 months.

Though the roads in other parts of the State continue to be in a shambles, there has obviously been no dearth in spending in Hassan district. So much so, once the elections were announced, every small road and Harijan basti in Holenarasipur constituency, has received a fresh coat of tar, boosting the image of Revanna as a “do-gooder.”

Leakage in funds

Revanna is also credited with starting a Rs100 crore milk production unit, setting up of electric sub stations to improve power supply in villages, 12 high schools and five PU colleges.

However, his critics say that there has been an enormous leakage in the funds sanctioned and only his contractor-friends have benefited hugely from various works underway.

Most of the tar roads on which hundreds of crores have been spent will last only till the next monsoon. (Hence, the reminder to make a quick dash to the monuments when the roads are still good!)

But, at the moment Revanna is riding high and his last-minute surprise opponent from the Congress, Anupama Mahesh, is struggling to catch up.

A novice in politics, Anupama is banking on the fact that she is late Puttaswamy Gowda’s daughter-in-law and a woman with a clean image. BJP has no presence here.

Puttaswamy Gowda became a legend of sorts during his life time by challenging the Gowda family’s hegemony in the district.

He defeated Deve Gowda in 1989 assembly polls and lost the next one narrowly to Revanna by 126 votes, but his crowning glory was beating Deve Gowda after he had served a term as prime minister in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections by a margin of 1.43 lakh.

Anupama, who used to help Puttaswamy Gowda in backroom politics, hopes to become the rallying point for the Gowda family-baiters in the district. In fact, already many Gowda followers-turned-rivals are campaigning for her, hoping to cause an upset in Holenarasipur.

Delimitation effect

But, her ambitions have received a jolt with the Election Commission, during delimitation yanking out Hallimysore hobli from Holenarasipur and replacing it with Shantigrama and Dudda (Vokkaliga-dominated) from Arakalgud.

Hallimysore with a strong Kuruba and Lingayat presence of 70,000 voters, had always been Gowda’s Achilles heel. His critics argue that Gowda moved heaven and earth with EC to have Hallimysore removed from Holenarasipur to make it a “safe seat” for the family.
With such paternal help from a “master strategist,” no wonder Revanna is taking this election as cool as a cucumber.