Chamundeshwari Assembly segment which saw a low-key campaign in the run-up to the elections is witnessing high drama a day after the completion of the polls.
The constituency was expected to witness a high-voltage contest with the Congress keen to extract its pound of flesh for the 2018 defeat of Siddaramaiah at the hands of G.T.Deve Gowda of the Janata Dal (Secular). Hence, the Congress choose to field M. Sidde Gowda, a one-time close aide of former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) supremo Deve Gowda, who had defected from the JD(S) camp to the Congress.
But as the campaigning grew louder and intense elsewhere in the State Chamundeshwari lapsed into quietude with Mr. G.T. Deve Gowda being the lone candidate who went about seeking votes on a daily basis. Mr.Sidde Gowda was perceived to be ‘’missing in action’’ leading to speculation that there was a ‘’match fixing’’ of sorts to enable Mr. Deve Gowda to emerge a winner.
A miffed Mr. Deve Gowda lashed out at such speculations and told mediapersons on Thursday that the Congress and Mr. Siddaramaiah in particular were clueless about the constituency and were hence making such wild speculations. ‘’Mr. Siddaramaiah has fielded a person who has not won a panchayat elections and expects him to win the Assembly elections. How could anyone entertain such thoughts when Mr. Sidde Gowda himself has no followers in his own native place in Jayapura’’, said Mr. Deve Gowda.
On his part Mr.Sidde Gowda refuted any suggestions of conceding a walkover or deliberately maintaining a low profile to help Mr. G.T. Deve Gowda. He also took a vow to lend a semblance of seriousness to his argument and refute such allegations and said ‘’there was no internal adjustment’’ as being speculated.
Mr.Sidde Gowda, who joined the Congress a few weeks before the elections, accused a section of his own partymen of spreading such canards as he was favoured to be the candidate by the party bosses despite being a new entrant to the party. ‘’This is the handiwork of a few old timers in the Congress who could not digest that a newcomer was being fielded by ignoring long-time aspirants’’, he said.
Mr. Sidde Gowda also blamed different factions within Congress in Chamundeshwari for spreading such canards. “Notwithstanding the confusion the elections has been well fought by the Congress and I will win by a margin of over 1,000 votes against Mr. Deve Gowda,’’ he added.
