Many Karnataka stalwarts brace for final battle

BENGALURU: Several stalwarts are set to test their political fortunes for possibly the last time in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections as age, failing health and lack of opportunities may force them to retire from politics in the near future.
Former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda (Tumakuru), veteran Congress leaders Mallikarjuna M Kharge (Kalaburagi), M Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapura), Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere) and senior BJP leaders Sreenivasa V Prasad (Chamarajanagar), GS Basavaraj (Tumakuru) and BN Bacche Gowda (Chikkaballapura) are in this senior group.Although octogenarian Shivashankarappa was allotted a ticket, he has pulled out of the race citing his age. He is also peeved that he wasn’t given a cabinet berth in HD Kumaraswamy’s government.
Gowda, 86, had declared that the 2014 Lok Sabha polls would be his last, but with his party in power in the state and the fate of his two grandsons at stake, he has taken the political plunge again from Tumakuru, after relinquishing family bastion Hassan to grandson Prajwal Revanna as he’s keen on consolidating the JD(S) base in the state before hanging up his boots.
Both his sons — chief minister Kumaraswamy and PWD minister HD Revanna (former minister) — are politically active, but he still doesn’t want to give up. He, however, faces a tough battle against BJP’s GS Basavajau, 78.
The situation for Prasad is no different. Belying expectations, he was given the BJP ticket to contest from Chamarajanagar at the last minute although he had taken political retirement after the 2018 assembly polls. As an MLA and minister in the previous Congress government, Prasad was hospitalised on several occasions in the past because of deteriorating health.
There was speculation that BJP would not field him in these elections, but given his popularity among Dalits, the party gave him the ticket. He has declared he’s fighting his last election.
Kharge, 77, is reportedly suffering from poor health. However, he decided to contest as he’s one of the seniormost Dalit leaders in the Congress and there is pressure on him to remain politically active. When Congress came to power in Karnataka in 2013, he was among the contenders for the CM’s post. Incidentally, Kharge’s son Priyank is now social welfare minister and continuing the family legacy.
The Congress is yet to pick a candidate for Davanagere where Shivashankarappa, 88, was given the ticket. The Lingayat leader had also cited age as a factor for declining the ticket.
Moily, recontesting from Chikkaballapura, faces a tough battle against BJP candidate BN Bache Gowda. While Moily is 79 and Bache Gowda is 77 — the battle of these senior citizens is perhaps the last time they’ll face off.
BSY’S FATE IN THE BALANCE
Will BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa meet BJP patriach LK Advani’s fate? That’s the buzz doing the rounds ever since he turned 76 on February 27 this year. Sources said Yeddyurappa may be sent to BJP’s Margadarshakmandal if the party fails to do well in Karnataka in the 2019 polls. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has already introduced a rule that leaders more than 75 years should not hold any administrative post in the central or state governments and those over 80 years will not be allowed to contest the polls. But the party was willing to break its own rule in Karnataka because it had no alternative to the Lingayat strongman. Yeddyurappa rubbished reports and said he’s still fit enough to contest the 2023 assembly polls.