NDA allies in a pickle over Channapatna seat as BJP MLC Yogeeshwara throws his hat in the ring

The development comes at a time when Deputy CM D K Shivakumar is going to great lengths to ensure that the Assembly seat is secured by the Congress. The Congress leader has visited the constituency multiple times over the past two weeks to wrest the seat from the JD(S) with the segment turning out to be a fresh battleground for rivals Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy.

Yogeeshwara is a five-time MLA from Channapatna, but lost the last two elections from the segment against Kumaraswamy. With a by-poll for the seat on the horizon, the BJP leader is learnt to be lobbying hard to ensure that he becomes the BJP-JD(S) coalition candidate.

Last week, on July 5, the BJP MLC told reporters that he had approached Kumaraswamy to back his candidature from Channapatna. “From Monday, I will start the election process by meeting leaders from both parties. I have charted out a booth-wise program,” he said.

The Congress, he said, has already hit the ground running. “So, we have requested to announce the candidate soon,” the former MLA said.

Yogeeshwara, an actor-turned-politician, was elected an MLA for the first time as an Independent in 1999, following which he won two consecutive elections on a Congress ticket from the constituency. He eventually shifted to the BJP and won from the segment in 2011. He jumped ship and won again in 2013 on a Samajwadi Party ticket. He returned to the BJP later and was nominated as an MLC in July 2020.

Meanwhile, JD(S) leaders from Channapatna, who met Kumaraswamy on Sunday, are learnt to have urged the party leadership to ensure that the regional party retained the seat. The meeting was held a day after Kumaraswamy said that the candidate for the constituency was yet to be finalised.

Channapatna is among the three constituencies where bypolls will be held. Shiggaon and Sandur are the other constituencies where elections are necessitated after Basavaraj Bommai and E Tukaram were elected as MPs from Haveri and Bellary Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively. With indications that the BJP would field its candidates in both Shiggaon and Sandur, the Channapatna JD(S) unit is learnt to have impressed upon the leadership to make sure that at least Channapatna – where the JD(S) has a strong cadre – remains with the party.

This came at a time when the name of Anasuya Manjunath – sister of Kumaraswamy and wife of BJP MP Dr C N Manjunath – has also done the rounds as a potential candidate.

Kumaraswamy kept the suspense going on Sunday when he asked leaders from Channapatna to back the NDA candidate, irrespective of who it was. He also asked his party leaders to visit Yogeeshwara to take him into confidence at all levels.

The JD(S) has scheduled a meeting later this week to finalise the candidate for Channapatna. According to BJP sources, though Yogeeshwara was keen to contest, the party high command was expected to take a call shortly over the issue. “It is unlikely that he will be fielded as he is a sitting MLC with two years left in his term,” a BJP source added.