Struggle for power between the feuding families of Shimoga

SHIVAMOGGA: The stage is set for the clash between two descendants of two former chief ministers, besides a veteran politician and former DCM, in Shimoga parliamentary constituency. This battle for supremacy between the families of two former Prime Ministers, which started in 2009, continues even after fifteen years.

In these elections, BJP’s BY Raghavendra, son of BS Yediyurappa, is pitted against Congress’s Geetha Shivarajkumar, daughter of S Bangarappa. The Shimoga constituency is considered a strong saffron base and veteran BJP politician and former DCM KS Eshwarappa is on the field for the two key players.

Former CM S Bangarappa’s regime in Shimoga parliamentary constituency and Shivamogga district lasted for several decades. He contested on the Karnataka Congress Party, Congress and BJP tickets. He contested his last election in 2009 on a Congress ticket and took on Raghavendra. He was defeated by a margin of 52,889 votes, after which his political fortunes began to decline. Since then, Shimoga LS constituency has witnessed a clash between the two families.

Interestingly, former CM BS Yediyurappa’s political graph showed an upward trend from 2004 onwards and till date there has been no looking back despite some hiccups. In the 2014 Assembly elections, Yediyurappa stood against Geetha Shivarajkumar, then in the JDS, and defeated her by a margin of 3,65,580 votes.

The clash between descendants started in 2018, during the by-election for the Shimoga LS seat. Madhu S Bangarappa, second son of Bangarappa, contested against Raghavendra, son of Yediyurappa, and was defeated by a margin of 52,148 votes. In the 2019 general elections, this clash continued again between Raghavendra (BJP) and Madhu Bangarappa, consensus candidate of the JDS-Congress alliance. Madhu lost by 2,23,360 votes.

A senior BJP leader told TNIE, on condition of anonymity, that this family rivalry seems to crop up in every election. It led to some bad blood with members of the two families making personal accusations against each other. “I have never seen such personal attacks by district politicians, including former CM S Bangarappa, in the past decades,” he said.

A wide range of issues were debated in these elections: free power supply to farmers’ pump sets, Sharavathi evacuees, protection of rights of bagair hukum growers and corruption during Yediyurappa’s tenure as CM, including the airport. Understanding the intensity of ‘political rivalry’, the Congress wants to gain the lost political ground in Shivamogga.

Eshwarappa’s entry as an independent has also led to a personal attack on Yediyurappa’s family after his son KE Kanthesh was denied the party ticket. Eshwarappa has argued that three members of the BSY family hold different party positions and portfolios.

Some Congress leaders felt that former minister and senior Congress leader Kagodu Thimmappa was neglected when his daughter joined the BJP. Eshwarappa, who is fighting to free up political space for his son, could have an impact on the families of the two former CMs. Whether the sitting MP continues his winning streak or Geetha Shivarajkumar registers a surprise victory remains to be seen.