AT A TIME when sexual assault allegations against prominent JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna have overtaken the state’s political scene, there is a new excitement in this constituency in central Karnataka for the coming elections.
The reason being the two women debutantes in the fray from the Davanagere Lok Sabha seat, which votes on May 7 – the BJP’s Gayathri Siddeshwar, 69, and the Congress’s Dr Prabha Mallikarjun, 48. Both belong to prominent political Lingayat families, with Gayathri the wife of sitting Davanagere MP G M Siddeshwara and Prabha the wife of state Congress minister S S Mallikarjun and the daughter-in-law of Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who at the age of 92 was re-elected to the state Assembly last year.
Known as the ‘Manchester of Karnataka’ for its large cotton production, Davanagere is marked by the political rivalry between the Siddeshwara and Shamanur families, going back to the late ’90s. While the Lok Sabha constituency has been won the past five times by G M Siddeshwara (he is not contesting this time ostensibly due to health reasons, though the fear of anti-incumbency is also seen as a factor), the Shamanur family has always won the Vidhan Sabha elections here.
About 30 km from Davanagere town, in the village of Mayakonda, four women seated in a verandah are having a heated discussion about Gayathri and Prabha. Sharada, who hails from the Golla community, says: “With women as leaders, it is easier for us to open up about our problems. They can empathize with us. Irrespective of the Congress or the BJP, we can hope to be heard, especially on the issues of finance and health.”
Nirmala, who is working in the fields in Mayakonda village and belongs to the Madiga SC community, says that besides the woman factor, she will choose Prabha because of Congress guarantees such as Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya and Gruha Jyoti. “This has helped me save and made me financially independent,” she says.
Even the men are looking forward to Gayathri and Prabha as “fresh faces” with a new perspective.
While noting that the two women candidates belong to old political families of the region, Siddesh, a social worker and a native of Harapanahalli, says: “It is definitely a welcome move.”
However, Srinath Reddy, a farmer belonging to Harapanahalli, says that for the Lok Sabha polls, what should matter are “national issues” and “national leadership”. “I think the BJP has performed better in this. I also have reservations about choosing candidates who lack political and administrative experience.”
Davanagere Lok Sabha seat
If Gayathri is talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and husband Siddeshwara’s works in her campaign, Prabha is making promises such as transforming Davanagere into an IT-industry hub. “The Congress government will bring investment and tap the potential of small-scale entrepreneurs,” she told The Indian Express, adding that roads were another priority for her.
Up against the two women candidates is Congress rebel Vinay Kumar, a Kuruba, who is contesting as an Independent after being denied a ticket by the party. Kumar is a prominent face too, being the founder-director of Insights Active Learning (Insights IAS), a well-known academy training civil servant aspirants.
Kumar’s presence in the race may hurt Prabha’s chances as the Kuruba vote, which generally goes to the Congress with its Chief Minister Siddaramaiah the community’s tallest leader, is likely to get split.
The Davanagere constituency is dominated by the Lingayats (both Panchamasali and Sadara); followed by the SC groups Lambanis, Gollas, Bhovis and Madigas; the Valmiki Nayaks (who are tribals); and Muslims.
While the BJP is confident of consolidating the Lingayat votes in its favour, with B S Yediyurappa back in the party saddle in the state, the SCs and STs favour the Congress. The Siddaramaiah government’s guarantees are seen as having further consolidated support for the party among the backward.
The goodwill for the Shamanur family owing to the SSIMS Hospital managed by them is another plus for the Congress.
In last year’s Assembly elections, the Congress won seven of the eight Assembly segments falling under the Davanagere Lok Sabha constituency.
However, the party comes into the battle with the knowledge that the Lok Sabha seat has remained out of its reach. “When Mallikarjunappa (Siddeshwara’s father and former Davanagere MP) passed away, the sympathy factor worked for the BJP. Later, the party reaped political dividends due to the Modi wave and the surgical strike against Pakistan,” says district Congress chief H B Manjappa.
However, the leader adds, they are most confident about this election. “Given the Karnataka Congress guarantees and the party’s manifesto promises for the youth, women and migrant workers, we have an edge. While Kumar might cause a 5-10% dent in votes, it will affect both the BJP and Congress. And we are convinced that the guarantees have transcended beyond communities, giving us a significant advantage.”
BJP district president Rajashekar counters, “The BJP is fighting this battle in alliance with the JD(S), which has over 1.5 lakh votes in the region. Moreover, Davanagere has benefited from the development works implemented by the Modi government, including railway connectivity between Tumkur and Davanagere.”
Lingappa, a migrant labourer in the Mayakonda village, says he has heard about the Modi government’s schemes. “However, not all are reaching the poor like us. Moreover, Siddeshwara has failed to address issues such as water crisis, unemployment, healthcare, housing during his five-time tenure as an MP. We are in desperate need for change.”