In Kolar, 7-term MP faces anti-incumbency

BENGALURU: KH Muniyappa, one of the 44 MPs from the Congress who spent the last five years on the opposition benches of the Parliament, is not only a veteran politician but also somebody with an impressive electoral record. He has won seven consecutive terms from Kolar since 1991.
While he is likely to retain his ticket in the reserved constituency, Muniyappa is facing considerable dissent from a section of the Congress.“Senior leaders like KR Ramesh Kumar (the speaker) and V Muniyappa and others like Naseer Ahmed have been making a case against the sitting MP,” one insider said. “There is also some aversion after he tried to bring family members and aides into politics.”
Ahmed said: “Local leaders and elected representatives from Srinivasapura, Chintamani, Mulabagilu, Kolar, Bangarpet and Sidlaghatta have met the high command in Delhi and said it would be difficult for Muniyappa to win as there’s a lot of aversion.”
But another Congress leader said Muniyappa enjoys the support of the top leadership — Siddaramaiah, Mallikarjuna Kharge and Dinesh Gundurao. Roopakala Shashidhar, Muniyappa’s daughter and KGF Congress MLA, is confident her father will bag the ticket.
“There are several senior members in the party and there could have been some disagreements, but they aren’t personal,” she said. “The party is bigger than all of us and I am confident that the leadership will be able to iron out differences.”
Political observers say that Congress lacking a serious candidate in the segment will work in Muniyappa’s favour, while voter fatigue and infighting can affect his chances. But if the JD(S) plays the perfect partner as per the alliance, then Muniyappa could easily become the first candidate in South India to win eight consecutive terms.
However, Srinivas Gowda, one of the two JD(S) MLAs from Kolar, is opposed to Muniyappa. Gowda said: “We’ve been demanding the seat be given to JD(S). The chances of JD(S) winning here is high this time.”
The voteshare of JD(S) in the 2018 assembly elections in Kolar district was one per cent more than the Congress. Also, the JD(S) candidate had given a close fight to Muniyappa in the previous Lok Sabha elections.