Channapatna, Karnataka’s famous toy city, is seeing a power game being played out on the political chessboard where the fledgling NDA partners are waiting for the other to blink first.
In what could be perceived as a pain point burgeoning for the alliance, BJP leader CP Yogeshwar and Union minister and JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy, who have fought aggressively against each other in the past but are now bound together by the BJP-JDS alliance, are seeing another face-off.
Yogeshwar, a native of Channapatna and an influential Vokkaliga leader from that region, has thrown his hat in the ring and declared himself the candidate from the seat — even before the alliance officially announced its pick.
But, here is the catch. Kumaraswamy wants to field his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy who has lost elections twice — once in 2019, where he lost to then Independent candidate Sumalatha, wife of late Kannada veteran Ambareesh. In the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, he lost the Ramanagara seat to H Iqbal. This is the seat that his father Kumaraswamy, mother Anitha, and grandfather HD Devegowda had previously represented and won.
Kumaraswamy Sr believes that Channapatna being a strong Vokkaliga belt, voters will support the chosen JDS candidate wholeheartedly.
BJP workers in Channapatna allege that Kumaraswamy is not ready to give up the seat to Yogeshwar, especially at a time when winnability for the JDS from the seat is uncertain. As per the understanding between alliance partners BJP and JDS, the Channapatna seat candidate would be from the JDS.
This coveted constituency was vacated after Kumaraswamy won the Mandya Lok Sabha seat. He had won the Channapatna assembly seat in the 2023 assembly elections, necessitating by-elections to this seat.
Yogeshwar, recently addressing a public meeting in Channapatna, said he has contested five elections as a BJP candidate but won only once. In those elections, Deve Gowda, along with the support of DK Shivakumar, had joined hands to defeat him. He said the groundswell is in his favour this time and his supporters have made up their minds to give him a win, even if it means he would have to contest as an Independent candidate.
“I am confident that even if political parties let me down, my people will hold my hand,” said the leader.
Yogeshwar has now been issued a gag order by the party leaders as his comments could affect the future of the BJP-JDS alliance. He also refused to comment when News18 contacted him for a reaction.
Soon after these statements, the JDS is said to have pushed back, and Kumaraswamy asked the BJP central leadership to rein in Yogeshwar to keep the alliance intact.
Highly placed BJP sources tell News18 that the party’s central leadership had earlier decided not to intervene in the decision for the candidate from Channapatna and put the ball completely into Kumaraswamy’s court.
“It is Kumaraswamy’s seat. Let him take a call on who should stand from there. But the party is also aware that without Yogeshwar’s support, it will not be possible for any JDS candidate to win from that seat,” said a senior BJP leader on the condition of anonymity.
It is learnt that Kumaraswamy has been having hectic parleys with the top BJP leadership to convince Yogeshwar to back down and allow a JDS candidate to stand for the by-elections.
Another BJP leader said that it is “Kumaraswamy’s wish” to see his son Nikhil become an MLA “before retiring from active politics”.
A BJP leader said: “It is a tough election for Nikhil Kumaraswamy to win from the seat. If he does not succeed, then he will end up becoming a hat-trick loser, losing three elections in a row. The JDS needs the BJP’s support to win that election.”
There has been no love lost between Yogeshwar and Kumaraswamy. During the Lok Sabha elections, Kumaraswamy was seen keeping his cards close to his chest regarding the candidate for Bengaluru Rural. Although Yogeshwar was a strong contender from the BJP, the party ultimately gave the ticket to CN Manjunath, Kumaraswamy’s brother-in-law, who secured a significant victory.
After much persuasion, Yogeshwar relented and worked in support of Manjunath. Yogeshwar’s supporters now argue that since he stepped back and backed Manjunath, it’s time for Kumaraswamy to reciprocate by giving Yogeshwar an opportunity.
“Yogeshwar sacrificed the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat for Dr Manjunath. He has the support of both JDS and BJP workers on the seat, so it is time as a united alliance of the NDA that they give the ticket to the most winnable candidate, which is Yogeshwar,” said a party leader from Channapatna.
A meeting of the JDS and BJP leaders is expected to take place on Saturday in Bengaluru to finalise the candidates for the Channapatna, Sandur, and Shiggaon bypolls.
The Shiggaon seat will also see bypolls after former Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai vacated the seat, having won the Lok Sabha polls from Haveri. BJP insiders say the MP wants to field his son Bharat Bommai, but his candidature may not bring in the win that the BJP hopes to get in all three bypoll seats.
“The candidate has to be strong as the opposing candidate from the Congress will put up a tough fight. It should be a winning candidate. We will discuss and arrive at a consensus soon,” said a BJP leader aware of the developments.
