DAVANGERE: After two long decades, Davangere will finally see a fresh face fighting the Lok Sabha elections on a Congress ticket. The seat, which has been contested since 1998, by Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa or his son SS Mallikarjun, will see district Congress president Manjappa HB (48), a supporter of Mallikarjun, take on the BJP.
Though Manjappa’s candidature was recommended by Shamanur and his son, the Congress, if not intentionally, has put a break on family politics in this election. Even though the Congress offered a ticket to Shamanur in this election, it was later given to Manjappa as both Shamanur and his son refused to contest.
However, Shamanur and his son will emerge as kingmakers if Mallikarjun, who is appointed as in-charge of the constituency by the KPCC, ensures the victory of Manjappa who belongs to the Kuruba community, which is fairly large in the constituency.
Manjappa describes himself as an ‘original’ Congress worker. He earlier held the posts of the president of Honnali Town Panchayat, Honnali Taluk Panchayat and Zilla Panchayat before rising to president of the district Congress. “Initially I was reluctant to contest but Shamanur and Mallikarjun convinced me. They told me I have the support of all sections. It is because of them that I got the ticket. As Mallikarjun is in-charge of the constituency, I’m confident that I will win,” he said.
Meanwhile, Zilla Panchayat independent member Tejaswi Patel, who was expecting the ticket, said that some local Congress leaders threatened that they would stay away from campaigning if he were given the ticket. Bowing down to the pressure of Shamanur and his son, and some section of the party workers, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) has finalised the name of Manjappa, said sources in the party.
The 1998 Lok Sabha election was held after Davangere district was carved out in 1997. Shamanur, who contested the election, won against G Mallikarjunappa of BJP. However, in the 1999 general election, Mallikarjunappa defeated Shamanur who contested again on the Congress ticket. In 2004, 2009 and 2014 elections, it was Mallikarjunappa’s son GM Siddeshwar who defeated Shamanur’s son Mallikarjun.
In terms of caste equations, it is said that Lingayat voters are in a majority and pegged approximately at 3.5 lakh. The number of scheduled caste voters is said to be three lakh. The next sizeable number is of the Kuruba community who are 2.5 lakh and Muslims who are 2.6 lakh.