By Firoz.T.Totanawala
The Bangalore Metro Reporter
THE ELECTION OF SCANDALS!
UDUPI- CHICKMAGLUR BY-ELECTIONS, A PRELUDE TO MEGA FINAL
The Udupi - Chickmagalur Loksabha Constituency is witnessing the by-election which, the political pundits describe as the semi-final to the elections in 2013. The BJP has fielded Sunil Kumar and Congress, Jayaprakash Hegde. The JD(S) is also trying to play spoilt sport by fielding its candidate. The interesting aspect of the contest is that while Congress is going hammers and tongs over BJP’s scandal ridden rule, the BJP is knocking the doors with the unlimited scams of UPA government at the centre. In a way it is a contest between state politics and central politics….
The by-election to the Udupi-Chikmagalur Loksabha seat is to be held on 18th March, necessitated by Sadananda Gowda resigning his seat after he became the Chief Minister. The BJP candidate is Sunil Kumar, a former MLA of Karkala and State Yuva Morcha President and Congress has nominated Jayaprakash Hegde who contested against Sadananda Gowda in 2009 and lost by a slender margin. JD(S) will field Bhoje Gowda as its candidate.
In fact, the poll has become a prestige issue for BJP as the seat was held by Sadananda, the present CM. On the face of it, the BJP holds six out of the eight Assembly seats in this Loksabha constituency. And as the prestige of the Chief Minister is at stake, one can expect the BJP leaving no stone unturned to win this seat.
Similarly, the Congress too has a high stake in this election. The Congress has not won a single seat in the by-elections held since 2008. The Congress High Command has made many permutations and combinations to revive the fortunes of the Congress in the state. But nothing has changed. In the 2009 Loksabha elections, the Congress could win only six seats.
Thus, the by-election has become a prestige issue for the Congress also. In addition, the candidature of Jayaprakash Hegde also counts much. Despite BJP’s money and muscle power, Hegde was able to give neck-deep fight to Sadananda Gowda in 2009 elections, who finally won the seat by a margin of around 26000 votes. Further, the death of V.S.Acharya is also a minus point to BJP. Thus, if Hegde wins, it will mark the beginning of Congress’s revival in the state and therefore, the by-election is a ‘now or never’ opportunity for the Congress.
And there is the JD(S), which wants to play spoil sport. Had the Congress leaders impressed upon the JD(S) not to field its candidate, the Congress could have won the seat. But with JD(S) fielding its candidate, there is the real danger of anti-BJP votes getting split to the advantage of BJP.
The most interesting aspect of this by-election is the fight to seek the votes harping on the scams. The Congress candidate is confident of romping home by educating the people about the multifaceted and multi dimensional scams of the state BJP government, especially of the former CM Yedurappa, in addition to the Rave party at Udupi and the porn gate scam. The BJP candidate is harping on the scams of the UPA like 2-G Spectrum, CWG etc. Not to be left alone, the JD(S) will expose the scams at state and central government level.
Arguably, the by-election will witness a ‘scam studded’ campaign. The hindutva plank of BJP has lost its relevance and so is the Congress’s slogan of ‘aam admi’. It is the ‘scams’ that decide the outcome. As on now people get easily influenced by the scams at the local level. If Congress harps on BJP government scams, it will have an impact more than BJP’s exposure of UPA scams. More than anything, it is the ‘Rave Party’ in Udupi that occupies the centre stage in the campaign.
It is to be recalled that few days ago, the Udupi district administration on the pretext of promotion of tourism, organized a cultural program in the St. Mary Island. Hundreds of foreigners, who attended, converted it into an open air theatre for their dirty activities. Booze, drugs etc. and open sex were highlights of the fest and it became a raging controversy. The local MLA Raghupathi Bhat was the force behind organising this event. The other issue where the BJP will feel the heat is the ‘porn Gate’ involving three ministers (now ex) including Krishna Palemar who hails from the region. It is these two issues that will play a decisive role in the outcome of the elections.
The BJP’s attempts to rake up the scams in the UPA government at national level, may not cut much ice with the people. By anyway one looks at it, the by-election has become an indication of things to come and also a testing ground for getting votes by trumpeting scams both at the local, state and national level. It is a sort of semifinal to the fast approaching Mega Final that is the general elections in 2013.
That is all.
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