Channapatna churning hots up race in Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency

Political dynamics in Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency shift as JD(S) members join Congress amid power struggles. The shift of JD(S) councillors to the Congress, sources say, is tied with the promise of funds for development works, some local factors, ideological issues rising out of the alliance with the saffron party, and business interests too. However, sources in the JD(S) said the party was unfazed by the development. They claimed the ‘DK brothers’ had been “buying out local leaders” to weaken the party over the last few years. “This increased after the JD(S)-Congress government led by Mr. Kumaraswamy collapsed in 2019,” said the source. He claimed the recent development showed “the brothers are desperate as Dr. Manjunath is receiving a good response”. The recent meeting of Mr. Yogeshwar’s daughter Nisha Yogeshwar with the DK brothers was another case in point of attempts to attract leaders to strengthen their position in the constituency, sources said.

On a day the Janata Dal (Secular) and the BJP displayed their strength as thousands gathered in Ramanagara, when cardiologist C.N. Manjunath filed his nomination for the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency, the Congress pulled a surprise with nine JD(S) members of the Channapatna Town Municipality, including the president, announcing their decision to join the Congress.

The developments followed soon after the visit of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who held a massive roadshow with JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, the former Minister and BJP MLC C.P. Yogeshwar, and Dr. Manjunath. The Channapatna Assembly constituency, which is part of the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency, is represented by Mr. Kumaraswamy and the Congress nominee for the Bengaluru Rural constituency, D.K. Suresh, is the brother of Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar.

The shift of JD(S) councillors to the Congress, sources say, is tied with the promise of funds for development works, some local factors, ideological issues rising out of the alliance with the saffron party, and business interests too. However, sources in the JD(S) said the party was unfazed by the development. They claimed the ‘DK brothers’ had been “buying out local leaders” to weaken the party over the last few years. “This increased after the JD(S)-Congress government led by Mr. Kumaraswamy collapsed in 2019,” said the source. He claimed the recent development showed “the brothers are desperate as Dr. Manjunath is receiving a good response”. The recent meeting of Mr. Yogeshwar’s daughter Nisha Yogeshwar with the DK brothers was another case in point of attempts to attract leaders to strengthen their position in the constituency, sources said.

However, Congress sources denied allegations of money power forcing political migrations to the party. “Local leaders are worried about their future since they are not sure about their careers in the JD(S)-BJP alliance. They are also looking at the leadership that the Congress leaders would provide them,” said a Congress source. Also, in Channapatna, both JD(S) and BJP workers have fought against each other and are looking at the Congress as an alternative, sources said, adding that such a shift in party loyalties is happening not just here but in Magadi, Kunigal, and Ramanagara too. 

Ramanagara district, which forms a majority of Bengaluru Rural constituency, has been politically sensitive in Vokkaliga politics. The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda credits the district’s support for his resurgence in State politics after he was elected from the Ramanagara Assembly constituency in 1994 when he became the Chief Minister. While Mr. Kumaraswamy was elected from both Ramanagara and Channapatna when he became the Chief Minister in 2018, Mr. Shivakumar has been representing the Kanakapura Assembly constituency since the 1980s. Another Vokkaliga leader, actor-turned-politician and current BJP MLC Mr. Yogeshwar has been elected from Channapatna five times. Nikhil Kumaraswamy’s defeat in the 2023 Assembly elections from Ramanagara constituency is believed to be due to the migration of certain key local leaders. This time, Mr. Kumaraswamy is contesting from the neighbouring Mandya constituency. The turf war between the families of Mr. Gowda and the DK brothers is well known.

Interestingly, the Channapatna Assembly constituency has seen such big shifts among elected leaders in the past too, which, however, did not yield political dividends. “Such migrations for political rehabilitation are quite common. One such migration happened in 2023 too when another group supported Mr. Yogeshwar. Eventually, Mr. Kumaraswamy won the seat,” said a JD(S) leader. Mr. Yogeshwar himself has won as an Independent, and on symbols of the BJP, Congress and Samajwadi Party, that shows the eternal churning in the constituency, sources said.