Lack of cohesion in alliance, caste give Simha 2nd term

The caste factor and the rift between Congress and JD(S) party workers in Chamundeshwari Assembly segment helped BJP candidate Prathap Simha to win the poll with a huge margin. The BJP, which has no hold in Chamundeshwari, has managed to obtain 22,150 lead in the segment.

Simha, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, secured the highest lead in Chamundeshwari, a Vokkaliga-dominated Assembly segment.

JD(S) has a stronghold in the segment and Higher Education Minister G T Devegowda defeated former chief minister Siddaramaiah by a margin of 36,000 votes in 2018.

The JD(S) and Congress are traditional rivals in the segment. A majority of the JD(S) supporters have supported Simha in the constituency, as Vijayashankar is from a different community.

If the coalition was successful in the segment, Simha would have not won the polls with such a huge margin.

Recently,  Devegowda had claimed that JD(S) workers in some parts of the segment did not support the Congress candidate. Even Siddaramaiah had seconded his statement. The JD(S) workers were reluctant to support the Congress and expressed their opposition during a party meeting. Even though Siddaramaiah and Devegowda jointly campaigned for the Congress, the voters did not support Vijayashankar.

Vijayashankar expressed his displeasure and said the coalition failed to work effectively in the constituency, particularly in Chamundeshwari Assembly segment.

Lead doubles in KR

In Krishnaraja (KR) Assembly constituency also, Simha has got a good margin. While former minister S A Ramdas won with a margin of 26,347 votes in the 2018 Assembly polls, Simha has secured a margin that is almost double. The efforts of Ramdas behind the increase in the margin were visible.