Shivamogga: The coalition government is going to face it’s first electoral test as three Lok Sabha seats and two assembly seats are going for by-polls on November 3.
While preparations are on in all the said seats, Shivamogga is going to be a fight for pride and prestige as three major parties have fielded sons of three former Chief Ministers of Karnataka.
While BY Raghavendra is the son of BJP’s state president BS Yeddyurappa, the Congress-JD(S) coalition partners have nominated Madhu Bangarappa, the son of former CM S Bangarappa. The Janata Dal (United) has fielded Mahima Patel, whose father JH Patel was the 15th CM of the state.
Raghavendra had represented the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constitutency between 2009-2014 but had vacated it for his father. However, Yeddyurappa who contested the 2018 assembly polls and had a short-lived tenure as the chief minister of the state again, had to resign his parliamentary seat, leading to polls.
Madhu Bangarappa too is not new to the constituency. His father and former CM S Bangarappa represented the same Lok Sabha seat four times.
While the two contestants have been talking about the developmental works done by their respective parties, Mahima Patel has said that the voters are looking for a fresh face.
However, the voters in the constituency feel that the fight is going to be directly between Raghavendra and Madhu Bangarappa.
While it is a fight for prestige for both, victory of Raghavendra would mean that BSY has managed to retain his home turf and victory of Madhu Bangarappa would mean that the coalition is here to stay. Only the results will reveal who has won the hearts of the voters.
