Eye on poll, parties gearing up to consolidate base in N-K

Its ‘focus North Karnataka’ for the three major parties -- the BJP, the Congress and the JD(S) -- as the 96 seats spread across 13 districts in the region are a deciding factor in the 2018 Assembly elections.

BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Sunday stirred the political cauldron in the region by stating that he may contest from a constituency in North Karnataka in the next Assembly elections.

For the BJP, its “Mission 150” of winning more than 150 of the 224 seats in the state Assembly can be achieved only if the party wins a substantial number of seats in North Karnataka. The party believes that Yeddyurappa contesting from North Karnataka can consolidate is its hold over the Lingayat vote bank, who form the dominant community in the region.

The Congress and the JD(S) are also looking north, as they believe that seats from this region can turn out be a potential electoral game changer. There is pressure on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to contest from a constituency in North Karnataka. The Congress, eyeing the Lingayat votes, recently held a massive rally in Kudalasangama in Bagalkot district to mark the official take over of senior leader S R Patil as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president.

JD(S) State President H D Kumaraswamy has already rented a house in Hubballi and has been visiting districts in North Karnataka on a regular basis as part of the party’s election strategy.

The BJP think tank is of the opinion that Siddaramaiah has, by trying to split the Lingayat community, earned himself an ‘anti-Hindu’ image (which is more profound among voters in North Karnataka) which the party plans to tap. “Besides the Lingayat factor in North Karnataka, now there is resentment among the Vokkaligas and the OBCs in the region that Siddaramaiah is anti-Hindu. The party will stand to gain in North Karnataka if Yeddyurappa contests from there,” a senior BJP leader said.

Yeddyurappa, by contesting from the region, wants to send out a message that he is moving away from his safe home constituency of Shikaripur in the larger interests of the party. The “home away” strategy is modelled on Prime Minister Narendra Modi contesting from Uttar Pradesh in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, moving away from his home state of Gujarat.

In 2013 Assembly polls, the Congress won 56 seats while the BJP secured 22 in North Karnataka. The JD(S) won just six seats and other parties bagged 12. The BJP now is keen on turning the tide in its favour.