Karnataka: How Congress Wiped JD(S) In Its Bastions Of Tumkur, Mandya

A Congress leader said that Chandrashekar was able to consolidate the vokkaliga base in these two crucial districts.

BENGALURU: In the closely-fought Karnataka Assembly elections, where the Congress decimated the BJP and the JD-S with a historic mandate, the party also delivered a powerful performance in JD-S bastions of Tumkur and Mandya districts where it won 13 of the total 18 seats. Tumkur has 10 Assembly seats while the Mandya district has eight.

In Tumkur district, the Congress won seven seats while the BJP won two and JD-S one seat. The assembly constituencies of Tumkur comprises Chiknayakanhalli, Tiptur, Turuvekere, Tumkur City, Tumkur Rural, Koratagere, Gubbi, Sira, Pavagadha and Madhugiri. Similarly in Mandya district, the Congress won six seats while the BJP scored nil, the JD-S was able to win one seat while one seat was won by Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha.

Mandya has eight assembly, namely Malavalli, Maddur, Melukote, Mandya, Shrirangapattana, Nagamangala, Krishnarajpete, and Krishnarajanagara. The party credited the victory in the JD-S redoubts to its Rajya Sabha MP G.C. Chandrashekar, a Vokkaliga leader. According to party leaders, he is the man behind the victory for the 13 seats in Tumkur and Mandya district serving as incharge of the two districts for the last two years.

A Congress leader said that Chandrashekar was able to consolidate the vokkaliga base in these two crucial districts. "He had taken the party leadership into confidence during ticket announcement only, and had promised the leadership that party will win minimum 10 seats combined in the district," the party leader, wishing not to be named, said.

The party leader pointed out that Chandrashekar, who belongs to Gangatkar Vokkaliga caste, same as S.M. Krishna and D.K. Shivakumar, had been working in these two districts tirelessly for two years, and his input was crucial for ticket distribution with full support from party leadership even when the party survey went against his desires.

In Mandya, the party had drawn a blank in 2018 Assembly elections while it managed to win only two seats in Tumkur.