BJP’S CHOICE OF CANDIDATE FOR MYSORE-KODAGU LOK SABHA SEAT: IT IS PRATAP SIMHA Appachu Ranjan misses by a whisker BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi’s favourite and a staunch Hindutvavadi Kannada journalist Pratap Simha may not be the favourite of Mysore-Kodagu Lok Sabha constituency. The Congress culture of Nehru-Indira days when the high command’s command alone mattered in the choice of the constituency for a candidate, is gone. The voters are now looking at a local candidate, not an outsider as in the case of Pratap Simha, who is also a novice in the electoral politics. Does this, however, make the two-time BJP MP C.H. Vijayashankar from Mysore, a winning choice for the party? Certainly not, for the reason that going by the caste equation, his Congress rival MP Adagur H. Vishwanath is a Kuruba, just as Vijayashankar. Does this neutralise the caste of the candidates? No. In the present electoral battle, the Siddharamaiah factor is bound to loom large for three reasons – One, that Siddharamaiah is the Congress Chief Minister from Mysore district; therefore it is a question of prestige for Siddharamaiah to ensure the victory of Congress candidate. Two, Siddharamaiah, also a Kuruba by caste, is accepted as a supreme Kuruba leader of Karnataka. Hence, no matter Vijayashankar is a Kuruba, the Kuruba vote to the last one will en bloc go to Vishwanath. Where does this leave Vijayashankar? There are whispers that the incumbent MP Vishwanath has incurred the wrath of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda for making critical comments on him, which has hurt the feelings of Vokkaliga community. As such they will not, it is perceived, vote for Congress. Naturally, advantage BJP, no matter whom the JD(S) fields. It is said the JD(S) will field its candidate not so much to win the election as to damage the votes of Congress. However, this personal agenda of the JD(S) will not help Vijayashankar to pass past the goalpost. Who then will make a winning choice for BJP? All things considered, it is BJP MLA Appachu Ranjan from Kodagu, where BJP has two MLAs. Add to this the Vokkaliga factor which is favourable to Appachu Ranjan, despite JD (S) strategy which is to defeat Congress. There is yet another reason to consider the case of Appachu Ranjan. This is based on the principle of natural justice to a person belonging to an ethnic minority community known as Kodavas. It may be mentioned that except for late C.M. Poonacha, a Kodava who was a Rajya Sabha member, no Kodava has been in the Parliament ever since Independence. It may be mentioned that there was a clamour for a separate Statehood for Kodagu and now for an autonomous Kodagu region. By giving the ticket to Appachu Ranjan, these parochial demands by the Kodava community people would also be addressed. It is perceived among the political Pundits that Appachu Ranjan, a big planter flush with money and popularity, has a winning streak. However, the BJP high command has a different perception and has banked on a young stallion Pratap Simha. Who knows, in a country where a student leader could defeat the Congress giant K. Kamaraj in Tamil Nadu (1967), why not Pratap Simha? -Star of Mysore
Posted on: Sun, 16 Mar 2014 14:56:18 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015