BJP’s 'Beyond Bengaluru' mission is easier said than done

BJP’s chief election strategist Amit Shah’s dream to conquer the Vokkaliga heartland seems to have begun by making Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveil a 108-ft tall Nadaprabhu Kempegowda statue (Statue of Prosperity) near the Kempegowda International Airport in November last year.

Shah followed it up by launching a political rally in Mandya in December where he set the ball rolling for the BJP’s 'Beyond Bengaluru' by asking people to defeat JD(S).

As part of this Beyond Bengaluru mission, Shah launched the party’s fourth Vijaya Sankalpa Rath Yatra last week in Devanahalli after offering prayers to Channakeshava in Avathi village, believed to be the birthplace of Kempegowda.

The Vokkaliga heartland is largely divided into four sub-caste groups: Gangatkar Vokkaliga, Reddy Vokkaliga, Morasu Vokkaliga and Kunchitiga Vokkaliga.

Also Read: Ahead of inaugural by PM, credit war rages for Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway

Shah’s campaign will tour Kolar, Chikkaballapur, Tumakuru, Ramanagara and Bengaluru Rural districts, which share borders with Bengaluru Urban and are thoroughly interdependent on each other. So, the BJP feels that the quest to breach the Vokkaliga heartland should start from this region, which sends 30 MLAs to the Assembly.

Tumakuru, where the Vokkaliga belt comes to an end and the Lingayat influence starts gaining strength, has seen a triangular fight between BJP, Congress and JD(S). But in the remaining four districts, it is always a direct fight between Congress and JD(S), as both parties together won 25 seats in the 2018 election - Congress 14 and JD(S) 11.

BJP won four seats in Tumakuru in 2018. But the saffron party has improved its tally by winning the Sira seat in the 2019 bypoll.

After the launch of the fourth leg of Vijaya Sankalpa in Devanahalli, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the leaders and the workers must work to ensure the party win at least 50% per cent of the seats in the region.

Tumakuru, where BJP at present has five seats, is facing an uphill task in retaining its seats held by Law Minister J C Madhuswamy in Chikkanayakanahalli and School Education & Literacy Minister B C Nagesh in Tiptur due to anti-incumbency.

But BJP’s new entrant in Koratagere, former IAS officer B H Anilkumar, is giving sleepless nights to Congress veteran and chief ministerial aspirant Dr G Parameshwara.

Also read | Can JD(S) retain pole position in Vokkaliga bastion?

"The BJP has started focusing on this region for the first time ever. The symbolism - statues and yatras - will attract the youth better and not the traditional supporters in a family. At best the BJP can create a dent in all seats and make a mark in a couple of seats, but may not be able to win as much as they are claiming now," a political science professor from Tumakuru observed.

Former BJP MLC Ashwathnarayan Gowda said ‘Morasu Nadu’ (Kolar, Chikkaballapura and parts of Bengaluru Rural district) is "perfect ground” to achieve Shah’s 'Beyond Bengaluru' mission.

He added that the BJP would surely field strong candidates against all prominent Congress and JD(S) leaders such as Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar, JD(S) legislature party leader H D Kumaraswamy and his son Nikhil in order to "tie them up in their own constituencies."

JD(S) IT wing chief Naveen C Gowda said the regional party’s fort is impregnable due to its charismatic leader H D Kumaraswamy, who is acceptable among the public in the region. “At present, for us, BJP is not a rival, but Congress surely is.”

"Traditionally BJP has a strong base in Bengaluru where it has won 13-17 seats (out of 28). Now, it needs to look beyond Bengaluru. So, the districts that share a border with Bengaluru are the first priority. That is why we have launched the fourth Rath Yatra from 'Morasu Nadu', where Morasu Vokkaligas are dominant," BJP MLC Ashwathnarayan Gowda said.

Naveen C Gowda, JD(S) IT wing chief, said, "At present, for us, BJP is not a rival, but Congress surely is."