Contest for council seat picks up heat as JD(S), Congress announce candidates

MYSURU: Although both the JD(S) and Congress have announced their parties’ respective candidates for the upcoming election to the South Graduates’ seat in the legislative council, the BJP is yet to declare its candidate for the polls. The seat is currently held by the JD(S), which is eager to retain control of the segment, which is spread across Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts, where the regional party has been a dominant force.
The JD(S) has decided against fielding incumbent MLC KT Srikantegowda, choosing HK Ramu, the former president of the Karnataka State Government Employees’ Union, instead. The Congress, meanwhile, has decided to field Madhu Madegowda, son of former MP G Madegowda, in the election. Madhu, who had unsuccessfully contested the assembly election from Maddur constituency, losing to his JD(S) opponent, has already started campaigning for the council elections. He has been reaching out to the local leaders in all the four districts, trying to garner support, and mobilise the party cadre.
The constituency has registered a spike in the number of voters, with more than 20,000 graduates added to the electoral rolls. The Election Commission is likely to allow addition of graduates to the rolls till the dates of the polls are announced in June.
In all, there are 1.33 lakh registered voters across the constituency, of whom 55,761 are women. When elections were held in 2016, the total number of voters in the constituency stood at 1.15 lakh. There are predictions of the rolls swelling up to two lakh, when the voters’ list is revised in March and April. Most of the new voters included in the rolls since the last election are Dalits and members of backward classes and minority communities.
Sources in the BJP, meanwhile, told TOI that former MLC G Madhusudhan and MV Ravishankar were among the frontrunners for the party’s ticket. “Madhusudhan is a senior party leader who has been elected to the council thrice, and has close connections with the BJP central leadership. Ravishankar, on the other hand, is a grassroots worker with the backing of the Sangh Parivar,” a source said.
In the elections in 2016, when the saffron party had decided to field Ravishankar instead of Madhusudhan, the BJP lost the seat to the JD(S). President of the BJP’s Mysuru city unit TS Srivatsa said that, there were six candidates in the race for the party’s ticket. “Senior members of the state BJP sought feedback from the party workers in the region, and shortlisted the names of six candidates. A final decision will be taken, and the candidate announced in a week’s time,” Srivatsa said.
On the JD(S) replacing Srikantegowda as its candidate for the constituency, political analyst MB Naganna Gowda said, “Srikantegowda is keen on contesting the assembly election next year, either from Maddur or Nagamangala. Although the BJP used to win the seat rather easily earlier, the rise in the number of voters, particularly those from minority communities, backward classes and Dalits, has resulted in the saffron party losing control of the segment.”