Even as the Congress candidate for elections to the Legislative Council from South Teachers’ constituency Marithibbe Gowda is bracing to file his nomination papers on May 14, alliance partners - JD(S) and BJP - in the region are gripped by confusion over the alliance’s candidate.
After the BJP’s central leadership announced E.C. Ningaraju as the alliance’s candidate for South Teachers’ constituency, the JD(S) leaders in the region have begun exerting pressure on the party leadership to ensure that the BJP cedes the seat to its candidate.
While the sources in the BJP said the party leadership normally does not change its candidate after a formal announcement, Mr. Ningaraju has begun his campaign by appealing to the voters to support him in the elections scheduled for June 3.
The JD(S), which had won the seat in the last elections held in June 2018 with Mr. Marithibbe Gowda as its candidate, is planning to field either former MLC K.T. Srikante Gowda or Mr. Chidananda. Hence, they will have to make efforts to convince the BJP to withdraw the announcement of ticket to Mr. Ningaraju and support its candidate.
Meanwhile, Mr. Marithibbe Gowda, who resigned from the JD(S) as well as the Legislative Council earlier this year and joined the Congress, will be filing his nomination papers on May 14.
A meeting of Congress leaders will be held on May 14 before taking out a procession to the office of the Divisional Commissioner in Mysuru, where the nomination papers will be submitted, said Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) spokesperson H.A. Venkatesh.
While expressing confidence that Mr. Gowda, a four-time MLC, will be re-elected, Mr. Venkatesh said the confusion among the alliance partners BJP and JD(S) over the candidature will be another factor that would be advantageous to the Congress. Even if it is resolved, the bitterness will linger, he felt.
Not only is Mr Gowda, who had been elected from the seat even as an independent once, popular among the voters, the electoral college comprises a large number of women, who are beneficiaries of Congress Government’s guarantee schemes like Shakti that provides free travel in KSRTC buses, he said.
The South Teachers’ constituency, spread across Mysuru, Mandya, Hassan and Chamarajanagar districts, comprises more than 20,000 voters. With most educational institutions remaining closed for summer vacations, the campaign will involve the candidates visiting the voters in their homes or contacting them through phone or social media.
“Unlike the earlier elections when the candidates would visit educational institutions and seek votes, this time they will be forced to visit their homes,” said a source.
Polling for the elections is scheduled for June 3 and the counting will be taken up on June 6.
