Chikkamagaluru: A day after Y. S. V. Datta quit the JD (S) and joined the Congress, there has been a hue and cry that the JD (S) has a master plan to defeat Y. S. V. Datta. The JD (S) has declared CM Dhananjaya, who had unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly elections on a Congress ticket, as its candidate.
With this, the JD (S) is trying to rope in a candidate from the Congress to the JD (S) and field against Datta.
The sitting MLA from Kadur Assembly Constituency Belli Prakash in Chikkamagaluru District, will be eyeing the BJP this time too and is trying to retain his Constituency.
Datta, who was with the JD (S) all these years, has joined the Congress. The JD (S) has given ticket to CM Dhananjaya, who was seeking a ticket from the Congress.
Winning the Kadur Assembly Constituency, which is part of the plains despite being in Chikkamagaluru, is a prestige issue for all the three parties this time. Kadur, which was once a stronghold of the Janata Dal (Secular), has now ceded its seat to the BJP.
K. M. Krishnamurthy has created history by winning from Janata Dal, JD (S) and Congress because of his personal charisma. Former MLA Y. Jayakumar, who was known as an influential leader of the JD (S), is preparing for the three parties to win the elections. Datta (Yagati Suryanarayana Venkatesh Datta) has joined the Congress this time and is preparing to contest the elections from the Congress.
Though the list of Congress aspirants in Kadur Constituency is small compared to last time, there is still a race for a ticket. K. S. Anand, who contested the last Assembly elections, has been constantly working with the people in the Constituency. Senior Congress leader K. M. Vinayaka and Former MLA K. M. K’s son Sharath Krishnamurthy are also claiming to be seeking tickets. However, in the 2013 elections, there were huge victories and in the 2018 elections, he lost by 46,860 votes. Datta is also said to be in the race. The BJP, which won the 2018 elections, is likely to field its sitting MLA and Belli Prakash, who is also known as the Chairman of the Apex Bank, this time.
He had won against influential leader Datta. So, this time too, he is campaigning vigorously in the Constituency in the hope that the ticket will be strong. His faith has also been strengthened as there is still no competition for the BJP ticket in this Constituency. It was considered to be a JD (S) stronghold as it is an influential constituency in Hassan. However, the defeat of the JD (S) candidate here last time and the defection of their influential leader this time has dealt a blow to the JD (S).
Hence, this time, C. M. Shivakumar has been fielded as the JD (S) candidate for the Assembly Constituency. This has come as a huge surprise. JD (S) candidates C. M. Dhananjaya hails from Channasandra in Bengaluru. He wanted a Congress ticket from Chikkanayakanahalli constituenycy. However, MLA H. D. Revanna and MP Prajwal, who are in control of JD (S) activities, have been fielded as candidates from Kadur Constituency in the presence of leaders. Dhananjaya’s announcement came as a surprise.
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The JD(S) is determined to defeat Datta. Surprisingly, Dhananjaya belongs to the Kuruba Community and was a supporter of Siddaramaiah. There is also a belief that one’s own year will work more than the party in this field. This is a testimony to the four-time victory of K. M. Krishnamurthy. In 1994, 1999, 2004 and 2008, K. M. Krishnamurthy won. He is known as Chanakya in the field. But it remains to be seen who will become Chanakya in this 2023 Assembly election.
