Debutant C.N. Manjunath trumps D.K. Suresh 

Hailed as the “hrudayavanta” (man with a kind heart), cardiologist C.N. Manjunath registered a resounding victory by beating the three-time MP, D.K. Suresh, and sending ripples across Bengaluru Rural seat, a bastion strongly controlled by Mr. Suresh and his brother Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

Hailed as the “hrudayavanta” (man with a kind heart), cardiologist C.N. Manjunath registered a resounding victory by beating the three-time MP, D.K. Suresh, and sending ripples across Bengaluru Rural seat, a bastion strongly controlled by Mr. Suresh and his brother Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar.

His supporters claimed that by winning with a margin of 2,69,647 votes, he had “crushed the rock”. ‘Kanakapura Bande’ (rock of Kanakapura) is the sobriquet of Mr. Shivakumar, who is also the Bengaluru Development Minister in the Congress government. This defeat is bitter for the brothers, because Mr. Suresh won the polls here when the Congress lost 20 out of 21 seats in the 2019 elections.

A tour of the constituency revealed various reasons for the upset. “The soft nature of the doctor which he displayed during the campaign won the hearts of voters, even in Kanakapura which is the stronghold of Mr. Shivakumar,” said Raghu S., who was standing in front of the counting centre. 

Mr. Raghu said as he contested from the BJP, the committed votebase of the party and the JD(S) polled for Dr. Manjunath, who is the son-in-law of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

“Apart from this, even a chunk of the Congress votebase tilted towards him due to the philanthropic image and his contribution in saving many lives of poor people who were treated at Jayadeva hospital,” he added. 

Another voter said all through the campaign, he maintained “political dignity” that is often dominated by tirades. “He gave a sense to the voters that the campaign can be held in a polite manner as against the aggressive nature of the DK brothers. He had won halfway with this attitude,” he said. 

The mood at the counting centre was upbeat and the supporters were shouting slogans in high spirits. When Dr. Manjunath arrived at the centre, supporters surrounded him and some gralanded him.