'Swadeshi beti' Sushma lost to 'Videshi bahu' Sonia, won Ballari's hearts

It was one of the most fiery of poll battles. She was handpicked by her party—the BJP—to fight the "battle of Ballari" to take on the Nehru-Gandhi family "bahu". Sushma Swaraj lost the election, but she helped breach a citadel of the Congress party since 1952.

In the 1999 Lok Sabha election, Ballari, one of the backward districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region of Karnataka, witnessed a politically charged poll battle between a Videshi bahu (foreign daughter-in-law) and the Swadeshi beti (native daughter), when Sonia Gandhi, widow of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, made her electoral debut there against Swaraj, a firebrand politician of the BJP.

Sushma Swaraj, who was then the first woman chief minister of Delhi, lost the election to Sonia by 56,000 votes, but seemed to have won hearts, as the district saw a tectonic shift with the BJP breaching the Congress strong fort in 2004, with BJP's G. Karunakara Reddy wresting the Lok Sabha seat.

The Ballari poll battle is most memorable for the suspense and the sudden limelight it brought upon a sleepy and dusty district.

It was a time when Sonia was trying to emerge as the undisputed leader within the Congress and she chose to contest from two seats—Amethi in Uttar Pradesh, her late husband’s constituency, and Ballari in Karnataka.

It was a closely guarded secret. Sonia flew into Ballari via Hyderabad in a special aircraft to file her nomination. Swaraj, her opponent, too air-dashed to Ballari from Delhi via Bengaluru.

While the Congress was confident of a win in the "safe" seat, Swaraj, an ace orator and campaigner, learnt functional Kannada within a month. Her campaign drew huge crowds. Swaraj struck an instant chord with the people even as she celebrated the "Varamahalaxmi" festival.

On the other hand, Sonia, accompanied by her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi, seemed confident as the Congress has won 12 Lok Sabha polls in Ballari before that.

While it was being speculated that Sonia Gandhi would contest from Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh, she came to Ballari along with Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and then KPCC chief S.M. Krishna to file her nomination accompanied by former Union minister Basavarajeshwari, S.R. Rangappa, Kasim Sab and Umakanthappa.

Swaraj, whose name was mooted by Ramakrishna Hegde, filed her nomination accompanied by then civil aviation minister Ananth Kumar and BJP general secretary in-charge of Karnataka M. Venkaiah Naidu.

Swaraj flew into Ballari on a helicopter and within minutes, she was on the dais, flanked by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and current Karnataka chief minister B.S. Yediyurappa, waving to the cheering crowds.

Clad in a green saree and wearing a bright dot of vermilion on her forehead, the Swadeshi beti was geared up to take on the Videshi bahu.

Swaraj stunned everyone when she made her speech in chaste Kannada, fiery and confident. Vajpayee, who was campaigning for Swaraj, lauded her command over Kannada and joked he was afraid that the people would not allow her to go back to Delhi.

"I hope you will not disappoint this daughter of India. Smt Sonia Gandhi has not come here with only a desire to become an MP. She is here with an ambition to become the prime minister of this country. Sonia Gandhi was neither a Rajya Sabha member nor a Lok Sabha member. But she was made the party president. She also met the president seeking to form an alternative government," charged Swaraj.

For the first time, Swaraj raised the issue of the "foreign origin" of Sonia during the campaign, saying, "Priyanka (Gandhi) is seeking votes for her mother. I am seeking votes for Mother India. Please vote for the BJP. Soniaji claims she is the citizen of this country. Yes. She is a citizen, and we will give her the love, trust and respect she deserves. But if she seeks to become the prime minister of this country, our answer will be a big no.”

“I would like to ask Soniaji as to why Ballari, which has previously voted for the Congress party for 12 terms, is still backward. What is your contribution as the daughter-in-law of this country? Your political experience? It is all a big zero. In contrast, Vajpayeeji's 60 years of political life, his sacrifices, his contribution and large-heartedness are unmatched. I warn the Congressmen who have been winning elections with money power that today the lotus is powerful," Swaraj declared.

After Swaraj lost the election, she promised to visit Ballari every year to celebrate Varamahalaxmi festival. She kept her promise for many years, even as she celebrated the festival in Ballari, at the residence of Dr B.K. Sreenivasa Murthy, a renowned physician.

Her contest in Ballari energised the BJP and she also came in contact with the Reddy brothers and B. Sriramulu, a Valmiki leader, who referred to her as thayi (mother) and political guru.

The Reddy brothers, who were growing popular with their charity activities, prospered with the mining boom in the region, as the demand for iron ore ahead of the Beijing Olympics in China fetched them huge profit margins. Their opulent lifestyle became the talk of the town. They became the uncrowned satraps in the region.

The Reddy brothers ensured the BJP swept seven out of eight seats in Ballari. The first BJP government was installed in Karnataka in 2008. When the Lokayukta report on illegal mining by Justice Santosh Hegde in July 2011 triggered a political tsunami, implicating then chief minister Yediyurappa, the Reddy Brothers and Sriramulu, Swaraj parted ways with them. In fact, Swaraj is said to have opposed Sriramulu being given a BJP ticket to contest in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.

Sriramulu, who is now Molkalmuru MLA, said he was feeling orphaned after the demise of Swaraj. "She treated us like her own children. We were not from political families. Sushma Swaraj is the reason why we are in politics today. She made us realise we needed to serve the people. I cannot forget her affection and ideals till my last breath. She loved Ballari and the people called her as Amma," said Sriramulu.