SHIVAMOGGA: The rivalry between the Bangarappa brothers is no secret. And in this byelection to the Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency, the brothers are at loggerheads again. Sorab MLA and BJP leader Kumar Bangarappa is reaching out to constituencies, especially the Ediga belt, to campaign in favour of party candidate B Y Raghavendra, apparently with the ultimate goal of defeating his younger brother and JD(S) candidate Madhu Bangarappa.
The rivalry between the Bangarappa brothers goes as far back as 2004. After former chief minister late S Bangarappa quit the Congress and joined the BJP, his sons Kumar and Madhu also followed suit.
However, S Bangarappa’s decision to offer the party ticket to Madhu angered Kumar who quit the BJP in a huff and re-joined the Congress. S Bangarappa, who won seven times from Sorab — 1967, 1972, 1978, 1983, 1985, 1989 and 1994 — was unsuccessful in ensuring the victory of Madhu in 2004.
Kumar, who was minor irrigation minister in the S M Krishna government, emerged victorious from the Congress against his younger brother in 2004. In the 2008 assembly elections, both the brothers were defeated by BJP’s Haratalu Halappa (Madhu had by then followed his father to the Samajwadi Party). However, Kumar, who contested on a Congress ticket, secured slightly more votes than Madhu.
In 2013, Kumar was defeated by Madhu who contested as a JD(S) candidate. The tables turned in the 2018 assembly elections, when Kumar, who had joined the BJP, trumped against Madhu who contested on JD(S) ticket. The differences between the brothers came to the fore more starkly during the cremation of S Bangarappa in 2011 when Madhu allegedly did not allow his elder brother to perform the final rites of their father. Kumar had criticised Madhu for bringing his mother to campaign in favour of their sister Geetha Shivarjkumar in the 2014 Lok Sabha election.
Even now the rivalry is refusing to die down between the brothers as Kumar is actively campaigning to ensure the defeat of his brother. Kumar is touring Sorab, Sagar and Hosanagar which have a significant Ediga population. He is camping in villages to seek support for Raghavendra. Kumar has also criticised Madhu for contesting the byelection “aiming for money” as Kumaraswamy is the CM.