Ramanagara: JDS,Congress & BJP gear up to woo Vokkaliga voters

The headquarters of Ramanagara district has returned JDS president HD Kumaraswamy to the state assembly in the last three elections.

There is no one here who believes Kumaraswamy will not win a fourth time. This despite his opponents alleging that he has neglected the constituency.

For Ramanagara’s voters, their love for Kumaraswamy transcends the latter’s performance or number of visits he has made. “People here vote for him out of a gratitude that he created Ramanagara district and provided infrastructure to the district headquarters when he was the chief minister,” said C P Prakash, a sericulture farmer from Channammanahalli who belongs to the Kuruba community.

Kumaraswamy’s confidence in this silk town is not misplaced. “I admit that I haven’t made many trips to Ramanagara during the last five years. But I will challenge my opponents that I can win the election without campaigning here even once,” Kumaraswamy told ET.


What people in Ramanagara do not understand, however, is this: Why does he have to contest from Channapatna as well? Channapatna is Ramanagara’s neighbour and one of the four constituencies in the district. Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha Kumaraswamy lost here in the 2013 election to CP Yogishwar, a five-time MLA.

Yogishwar, also a Vokkaliga, fought on a Samajwadi Party ticket last time and is the BJP candidate this time around. This Vokkaliga leader, however, does not find much support outside his caste group.

The Congress is fielding H M Revanna from the Kuruba (shepherd) community in Channapatna. While the Congress is the smaller player in Channapatna and Ramanagara, the grand old party lords over the two other constituencies of the district, Kanakapura and Magadi. The BJP is not a big player except in Channapatna.