LS polls: JD(S) almost decided on fielding sitting MLA

Lack of strong contendors, forces regional party to field Sa Ra Mahesh

Caught in a bind, especially in Mysore for various reasons, Janata Dal (Secular) may be forced to pit its MLA from K R Nagar S R Mahesh as its nominee in the forthcoming elections to Lok Sabha from Mysore-Kodagu seat.

Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, also a mentor of Mahesh has proffered, forcing the latter to be mentally prepared to fight the crucial polls. Congress has already given a strong indication of fielding its sitting MP A H Vishwanath, while BJP is yet to zero in on a candidate.

In the run up to the polls, JD(S) was initially reluctant to field its nominee from the segment, just to puncture the prospects of its arch rival Vishwanath, by extending indirect support to BJP. However, owing to the pressure from party workers, the party leaders decided to give up the idea. When nobody evinced interest and with no strong contenders in sight, Kumaraswamy turned towards his close aide Mahesh.

The veritable reason being, Mysore is the stranglehold of his political bete noire and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Also, a former MLC from BJP who had evinced interest in the beginning to contest on the JD(S) ticket, has now backed off.

Mahesh, who is representing K R Nagar in the Legislative Assembly for the second consecutive  term is a popular face among the youth workers of the party. A Vokkaliga, Mahesh hails from Saligrama hobli in the same taluk. 

Ironically what might go against him is K R Nagar constituency itself. Post delimitation, the constituency comes under Mandya parliamentary constituency. Of the total 12 constituencies in Mysore district, only three have been won by JD(S) -- K  R Nagar, H D Kote and Chamundeshwari, while the rest belongs to Congress. In Kodagu, both the Madikeri and Virajpet constituencies are being represented by BJP.

JD(S) is however waiting for the BJP list, with the probability of former chief minister D V Sadananda Gowda, a Vokkaliga again, emerging as the candidate of saffron party. Among 15 lakh odd voters in Mysore and Kodagu seat, Vokkaligas, Lingayats, Nayakas and also Ahinda voters form the chunk.