 "Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy")
Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has never won southern Karnataka’s Mandya Lok Sabha seat.
The party came close to winning the seat in 2019, when an Independent that it supported, Sumalatha Ambareesh, defeated Janata Dal Secular’s (JDS’s) Nikhil Kumaraswamy, an actor and son of former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
The BJP’s poor performance explains its lack of influence among the Vokkaligas, which is why it has allied with the JD (S) for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. As part of their seat sharing formula the JD(S) is contesting Mandya, Hassan and Kolar. Hassan is the only seat that the JD(S) won in the last Lok Sabha polls.
The Vokkaliga dominated seat has sent leaders such as former Karnataka CM SM Krishna to the parliament. For the 2024 elections, HD Kumaraswamy faces Congress’ Venkataramane Gowda, also called Star Chandru, a civil contractor.
In the 2023 Assembly polls, Congress won six seats that fall within the Mandya parliamentary constituency, and another was won by a Congress-backed regional party. The JD(S) could win only one and the BJP none. However, for the 2024 poll campaign, Kumaraswamy has shaped his campaign around the theme that he is the ‘son of Mandya’. After a poor showing in the Assembly polls, it is crucial for the JD(S) to retain its influence in southern Karnataka.
First Published: Apr 22 2024 | 11:25 PM IST
