The underlying message for party members was crystal obvious when Union Minister Amit Shah launched the BJP’s Karnataka election campaign from Mandya in the southern region of the state last December. They were instructed to establish a presence in the area of Old Mysuru, which has only previously witnessed close elections between the Congress and the Janta Dal (Secular). The BJP has had difficulty breaking the double-digit threshold in the 48 constituencies in the eight districts throughout all of the state’s Assembly elections.
These eight districts include Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Hassan, Mandya, Ramanagar, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, and Chikkaballapur, omitting Bengaluru Urban. Both the Congress and the BJP are using the area as a battleground to increase their vote totals. These seats will serve as a gauge of the JD(Sviability )’s in an area that is thought regarded as its main support base.
The Vokkaliga community, which is prevalent in South Karnataka and is thought to be the second-most dominating population in the state, has historically supported either the JD(S) or the Congress. In the 2018 polls, the JD(S) saw a comeback in the area, although at the expense of the Congress.
The Congress lost ground in this region of the state, according to the results of the latest two polls, which showed a decline in its support from 26 in 2008 to 16 in 2018. The state Congress president and Vokkaliga leader D K Shivakumar, who represents the Kankapura constituency in Ramanagar, is hoping to sway his community’s votes in the Congress’ favor this time.
The Sarvodaya Karnataka Party, which is supported by numerous farmer groups and is trying to capitalize on the support from the unions, has taken over the seat that the Congress had held in Mandya’s Melukote district previously held by the party.