Modi factor, social engineering at play in Chikkamagaluru

The five Assembly seats in Chikkamagaluru district, which is surrounded by JDS stronghold Hassan on the one side and BJP bastion of coastal Karnataka on the other, are witnessing both caste and religious politics. In 2018, the BJP won four out of five assembly seats, barring Sringeri, which was won by Congress.

BJP is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the face of development and Hindutva while the Congress is betting on local issues as well as caste play.

Chikkamagalur: CT Ravi

The most talked about contest is for the Chikkamagalur seat, which has elected BJP national general secretary CT Ravi four times. The Congress candidate, HD Thammaiah, was a close aide of Ravi till a few weeks before elections. "It is true that the Congress candidate was with me for 14 years. I helped him become the president of municipal council. He is not as strong as he claims as could win the municipal council election by a mere two votes. He is using caste card and Congress, PFI, SDPI and JDS have come together against me," Ravi told ET. "I have worked for the people and have a personal connect with them. I am sure my victory will be bigger than what it was in 2018."

Thammaiah is a Lingayat, which is one of the biggest caste blocs in Chikamagalur. He is banking on support of his fellow castemen.

"Not only Lingayats, I am welcomed by every community in my campaign, and they are excited to give chance to a common man this time. Ravi is a big leader, but people now want someone who can be with them in time of need," Thammaiah told ET.

Apart from his own seat, Ravi is campaigning on other constituencies. "It is my responsibility to give 100% result from my district," he told ET.

KADUR: Old rivalry
Kadur comes under Hassan Lok Sabha seat and has a strong influence of JDS. In 2018, BJP's KS Prakash won the seat by defeating YSV Datta of the JDS by a margin of 15,372 votes. Earlier this year, Datta joined Congress but was denied a ticket. He has returned to JDS and is contesting on the party ticket again. Datta won the seat in 2013. The two arch-rivals are once again facing each other.

Mudigere: triangular fight
In Mudigere, sitting BJP MLA MP Kumaraswamy resigned and is contesting on a JDS ticket, making the election a triangular battle. BJP has fielded Deepak Doddaiah while Congress has fielded Nayana Jyothi Jhawar. CT Ravi is personally working to prevent the BJP workers from moving to Kumaraswamy.

Sringeri: close fight
In 2018, Congress candidate D Rajegowda won the Sringeri seat by defeating DN Jeevaraj of the BJP by a margin of 1,989 votes. Jeevaraj is closed to CT Ravi and had won thrice before losing to Congress in 2018.

"For the past three elections, the margins have always been in the range of one to four thousand," 36-year-old tour operator Sathyanarayan told ET. "It is always a close fight, but my vote is for the BJP due to Modi."

Tarikere: same candidates
In Tarikere seat, two arch-rivals DS Suresh of BJP and GH Srinivasa of Congress are once again facing each other. In 2018, Suresh won by 11,687 votes. In 2013 Srinivasa defeated Suresh by 899 votes. Suresh was a winner in 2008 too. "BJP is strong here and we are BJP supporters," said Ramesh Nayak from Attimogge village in Tarikere.