BJP Karnataka state president B.S. Yeddyurappa will not contest from the Shikaripura (Shimoga) constituency in the 2018 assembly polls. The Shimoga MP, elected seven times from the same constituency since 1983, will move out of his comfort zone and contest from Vijayapure or Bagalkot districts in north Karnataka to boost the party prospects in the crucial polls.
North Karnataka is an electorally significant region dominated by the Lingayat community. The BJP leadership is reported to have asked the Lingayat strongman and the party's chief ministerial candidate to contest from the north as it could impact 12 districts (96 constituencies), consolidating the dominant Lingayat votes.
Flummoxed by the development, the Congress is considering pitching a heavyweight against Yeddyurappa; the obvious choice is Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself. Realising the significance of the region, which could swing the polls, the Congress had created an additional working president's post in the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee for S.R. Patil, whose job will be to focus on north Karnataka.
However, the BJP's new strategy of fielding the tallest leader from the Lingayat community has rattled the Congress. The party is now desperate to instil confidence among its voters by fielding a popular face.
However, the million dollar question remains. Will Siddaramaiah be agreeable to such a risky gamble? He had already announced that he will vacate his current seat (Varuna) for his son Yathindra, and that he himself will contest from the neighbouring Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysore.
Meanwhile, the demand for a separate religion status for Lingayats has turned ugly and divided the politically and numerically strong community, upsetting the influential Lingayat mutts. Many in the community suspect a Congress hand in the stir. This sentiment might prove to be a major setback for Siddaramaiah and his party in the Mysore region.
Yeddyurappa proclaiming that he is prepared to contest from north Karnataka to "strengthen his party" hints at the BJP's shifting gameplan. "I am ready to contest from Vijayapure or Bagalkot, and I am ready to face even the chief minister (Siddaramaiah)," said Yeddyurappa, who is touring Kalburgi.
The disruptive strategy of the saffron party has unnerved ticket aspirants within the party, faced as they are with the possibility of contesting from "alien" territories.
Future considerations could also have influenced the BJP central leadership's decision to shift Yeddyurappa from his hometurf. The veteran and his son B.Y. Raghavendra have been holding the Shikaripura assembly seat and the Shimoga parliamentary seat alternately in the last two terms. The party is hoping to groom second rung leadership in Shimoga, considering Yeddyurappa's age. Come February, he will turn 75.
