Mysuru: The Krishnarajanagara Assembly Constituency known as the paddy granary of the District, is on the threshold of elections. It cannot be denied that this time there will be a direct contest between the sitting MLA S. R. Mahesh and Congress’ candidate Ravi Shankar. So it is impossible to predict till the end who will win this time. Both the parties have already started campaigning even though the election has not been announced due to stubbornness and direct confrontation. Caste predominance in the Constituency, details of the total voters, brief details of who won and held power in 15 elections held so far can also give a meaning to the Assembly election. This husting is survival question for Ravi Shankar. So there is information that there will be a direct fight between the two. Meanwhile, there is no BJP organisation in the Taluk, so it is in the third position.
If you look at the history of the Constituency, there are more elections in this part based on caste. There are 58000 Okkaliga community voters and 52000 Kuruba community votes. These two communities are crucial in the Taluk. Due to this reason, the caste politics in the District are more influenced by the voters. Apart from this, the influence of JDS Chief H. D. Deve Gowda, Former Chief Ministers Siddaramaiah, H. D. Kumaraswamy and Senior Politician C. H. Vishwanath has also increased. Apart from these two communities, there are 20,000 Scheduled Castes, 15,000 Scheduled Tribes, 15,000 Lingayats, 12,000 Muslims and 35,776 other Backward Communities, and the strong aspirants are currently trying to attract them. In the last 15 elections held so far, JD (S) candidates have won 7 times, while Congress has won 5 times and independents won in 3 times. It is special of this Constituency that it has provided three ministers to the State. The incumbent MLA S. R. Mahesh, who has written a record of hat-trick victory, is expecting to win again and thus become a minister. Elsewhere, S. Nanjappa of Janata Parivar, H. M. Channabasappa and H. Vishwanath, who won from Congress, were also successful in getting the ministerial position and the history of the Constituency.
Although the Congress has not officially announced a candidate, Senior Congress Leader Doddaswame Gowda’s son, and Former zilla Panchayat Member D. Ravi Shankar is most likely to be the candidate. However, Former MLA Manchanahalli Mahadev’s daughter Aishwarya Mahadev and Party leader Babu Hanuman are also eyeing the ticket. While the BJP has set a trap to invite Shivakumar’s close friend Babu Hanuman, S. R. Mahesh’s supporters have started a strategy to attract him to the Party. Thus, politics has flared up between the Congress and JD (S) parties in the District with local leaders conducting Party tours. Meanwhile, Hosahalli Venkatesh from BJP, District Vice-President Mirle Srinivasa Gowda and wife of BJP District Spokesperson H. G. Shweta Gopal, are BJP ticket aspirants.
However, the final battle will take place between Congress and JD (S), and only the voters’ decision has kept the last minute suspense. The influence of many over other leaders’ spheres of influence will also translate into votes. S. R. Mahesh won the last election through last minute postal voting. However, the move of Vishwanath, an important influencer in this area, will also affect this constituency. Mainly, MLA G. T. Deve Gowda’s (GTD) charisma is also high in the Constituency, so his staying in JD (S) is a boon for Mahesh. However, there is a calculation that if Mahesh is going to give an inside blow against GTD in Chamundeshwari, it may affect his Constituency as well. Apart from that, if you stand in support of GTD, it will also be a boon in the field. Thus Mahesh, who is a devotee of Kamba Narasimha Swamy near Nagamangala, has already started traveling in the area. Similarly, Congress candidate Ravi Shankar, who has prepared for vote hunting by promoting Siddaramaiah’s charisma, has also gone to Doddaiya-Chikkaya Temple and indirectly he too has entered the election fray.
The total number of voters in the Constituency is 2,04,115, out of which there are 1,02,445 male, 1,01,659 female and 1 other voters.
