Kolar: Kolar, the famous land of gold, which is 70 kms away from the capital Bengaluru, is the District that is attracting a lot of attention in the elections this time. The politics of Kolar, which has attracted the attention of the entire state in the wake of reports that former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will contest, is now incubating day by day. This election has caused a lot of curiosity as BJP, Congress and JD (S) candidates have thrown surprise in their selection of candidates.
Now there are six Assembly constituencies in this land of gold. Three of these are Reserved constituencies, while the remaining three are General constituencies. Triangular contest will be on in almost all the constituencies, and BJP is also competing in the District which was previously held by Congress and JDb(S). Everyone is just curious about what kind of magic the BJP will do in the Assembly elections after winning the Lok Sabha seat.
In the last assembly elections, Congress had won four out of six constituencies. The winners of the remaining two constituencies i.e Srinivasa Gowda who won from JD (S )and H. Nagesh who won as an independent have now joined the Congress.
In KGF constituency there is sure to be a triangular contest. The Congress party has given ticket to MLA Rupkala Shasidhar, believing that the work she has done in the last five years will be a boon to the party. Rupkala, who is known as an MLA who responds to people’s problems day and night, made news by staging a sit-in dharna against the Deputy Commissioner for the welfare of the people of the constituency! There is admiration among the masses that she has raised her voice on behalf of the people of the constituency in the Assembly sessions.
Ashwini Sampangi, who had given her fierce competition last time, has again entered the fray as a BJP candidate this time. Last time, the party had given another chance to Ashwini, who had competed beyond expectations.
The Republican Party of India (RPI), which secured third place in the last election, fielded S. Rajendran himself. He has also campaigned fiercely in the constituency. Meanwhile, Dr. M. V. Ramesh babu who contested as a non-partisan in the last Lok Sabha election has been fielded by JD (S).
This election in Malur Assembly Constituency, which was the constituency of Kannada Poet and Litterateur Masti Venkatesh Iyengar, has created a lot of interest. BJP has given ticket to Manjunatha Gowda, the candidate who contested as JD (S) candidate last time and got second position. The selection of candidate created rebellion in BJP. Congress and JD (S) are trying to take advantage of this.
As expected, Congress has given ticket to MLA K. Y. Nanjegowda. Nanje Gowda, who has made a name for himself by developing Shilpakala Village and providing various basic facilities, is once again campaigning in the spirit of winning. Since tickets were given to outsiders, BJP leader Hoodi Vijay Kumar, a loyal worker of the party, rebelled and contested as a non-party candidate. It is being analysed that BJP’s votes may be divided due to this.
JD (S) fielded J. E. Ramegowda without any commotionbafter Manjunath Gowda left the party a year back. So the JD (S) has, without any confusion, chosen a candidate for this election. Due to this, it is expected that a triangular competition will be held this time as well.
Bangara Pete was the constituency contested by K. C. Reddy, the first Chief Minister of Mysore. The special thing this time in this Reserve constituency is that the competition is going on between two Narayana Swamis. Also, both of them belong to the same caste and there is a fierce rivalry between them. In addition, JD (S) candidate is also in the fray, which has ensured a triangular contest.
As expected, the Congress party has fielded MLA S. N. Narayanaswamy. He has gained attention for the construction of high quality roads and has made a name for himself due to his simplicity. JD (S) has got the second position last time. Mallesh Babu himself has been fielded who was defeated by margin of 21,571 votes in last election. BJP has fielded M. Narayanaswamy, who is a former MLA, and also well connected in the constituency.
Srinivaspur Assembly constituency is known as the stronghold of Congress. This time there is a fight between Congress and JD (S). BJP has never won from this constituency. Although 13 elections have been held in the constituency, only five have been elected as MLAs so far. Congress party candidates have won 8 times in that too. As expected, the Congress party has fielded former Speaker K. R. Ramesh Kumar. JD (S) fielded G. K. Venkatasivareddy. Since 1983 K. R. Ramesh Kumar and Venkatashivareddy are political rivals.
Ramesh Kumar, who has won twice in a row, is expecting to win for the third time. But there is discrimination in terms of development in the field. Allegations that government schemes, and contracts have gone to their supporters are being heard. Those who criticise him for his dictatorial attitude are also seen in the field. There has also been a wave of sympathy on behalf of G. K. Venkatasiva Reddy. Thus, the competition between these two has aroused great interest.
This time there is a direct contest between Congress and JD (S) in Mulabagilu constituency, which is attracting the attention of the state by winning independent candidates.
In 2013 Assembly elections, Kottur G. Manjunath contested and won as a non-party candidate. As the caste certificate submitted by Manjunath was proved to be a fake, this time he changed his constituency and contested as a Congress candidate from Kolar. But Congress gave ticket to his supporter, local candidate and Bovi community leader Adinarayan.
But in 2013 and 2018 elections, non-partisans won here. Last time, H. Nagesh, who had won by chance as a non-party candidate with the support of Kothur Manjunath, was a Minister in the Congress-JD (S) Government. Later, he supported BJP and was a minister there too. JD (S) has again fielded Samriddhi Manjunath, who secured second place last time. JD (S), which has a strong base, is facing fierce competition this time as well. K. Sunder Raj is in the fray as a BJP candidate.
This time, a three-cornered contest is taking place in the Kolar Assembly constituency, which was the cause of intense curiosity due to reports that the Former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will contest. If Siddaramaiah had contested in this constituency, the political picture here would have changed. But now there is a competition between Congress, JD (S) and BJP, which has created a great interest.
Last time this constituency was won by JD (S) leader, K. Srinivasa Gowda. But he has now joined the Congress. He had given up the seat because Siddaramaiah was going to contest. But since Siddaramaiah pulled out of the contest at the last moment, he stayed away from fray.
The Congress party at the last moment, fielded the youth leader of the District, Kothur G. Manjunath. Varthur Prakash, who had contested twice as a non-party candidate, has now entered the fray as a BJP candidate. Last time, BJP secured fourth position in this constituency. Varthur Prakash was third. It is expected that this time BJP will also give strong competition in this constituency.
After JDS MLA K. Srinivasa Gowda has joined the Congress, Tomato Mandi owner C. M. R. Srinath has been fielded by JD (S). As JD (S) has a strong base here, it is expecting to win this time as well. A triangular contest is seen in constituency but Muslim community votes are most decisive.