Mysore, Karnataka:

In a fight involving ‘royal’ and ‘ordinary’, Mysore voters face BJP’s Yaduvir Krishnadatta Chamaraja in upcoming Lok Sabha polls The dilemma of choice between Wadiyar and Lakshmana of the Congress party.

Mr. Wadiyar, a scion of the former Mysore royal family, made his political debut in the Mysore Lok Sabha, while Lakshmana was the state Congress speaker and a confidant of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

It is no secret that Siddaramaiah has chosen to focus on this constituency, given his number of visits and campaign meetings in the area.

“A vote for Lakshmana is like a vote for me. His victory means my victory,” said Siddaramaiah, who represents the Varuna assembly segment of the district.

The Congress party also chose to play the caste card, emphasizing that Lakshmana is a Vokkaliga, the farming community that dominates the area.

“National issues are indeed important, but we have to think about local issues as well,” farmer Raju Gowda told the Reporter Trust while sitting in front of the “Ashwatha Katte” (retaining wall around the Bodhi tree) in Taluru, a suburb of Mysuru city. India.

“This is not only a contest between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, but also between Mysuru Maharaja and Lakshmana,” he said.

The JD(S), which has a sizeable vote base in the constituency, has forged an alliance with the BJP, a move that could benefit 32-year-old Wadiyar greatly in the April 26 campaign.

Mysore Lok Sabha constituencies are spread over two districts: Mysore and Kodagu.

In the 2023 assembly elections, the Congress won 5 seats, including 2 seats for the JD(S) and 1 seat for the BJP.

The Congress party calls the electoral battle “Raja vs Samanya Praja” or “King vs. ordinary citizen” and relies heavily on guarantee schemes of state governments to pay out fat electoral dividends.

Political analysts believe local issues will also be important in this election, including BJP MP Pratap Simha’s performance over the past 10 years and Siddaramaiah’s performance in his home constituency of stocks.

Wadiar, who was educated in the United States, seemed to have quickly picked up on electoral politics, addressing voters in chaste Kannada and endearing himself to many.

While Wadiar has solid support from the BJP and JD(S), Siddaramaiah has thrown his weight behind Lakshmana, making the battle a difficult one for him. A prestigious battle.

Siddaramaiah held several rounds of meetings with the party office bearers of various assembly constituencies under the Mysore Lok Sabha.

A political analyst said: “The pressure on Siddaramaiah is quite evident as he has to prove his influence among the masses in the upcoming Karnataka Lok Sabha polls, especially in Mysuru. in this way.”

In a recent meeting with party officials, the chief minister issued “clear instructions” not to use any derogatory or defamatory language against Wadiyar as it could backfire.

Siddaramaiah, Lakshamana and deputy chief minister and state Congress chief DK Shivakumar are giving a big push to the ‘Vote Vokkaliga’ campaign.

Mr Shivakumar, who is also a Vokkaliga member, held meetings with community leaders to drum up support for Lakshmana.

The BJP and JD(S) are not far behind in wooing the community.

Earlier this week, Wadiyar and several BJP and Lok Sabha candidates had a “vocabulary” with the influential Vokkaliga pontiff of Adi Chunchanagiri Math, Dr. Nirmalanananda Natha Swamiji comminicate”.

JD(S) second in command and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy, who is contesting from Mandya Lok Sabha seat, and his son Nikhil were also present to pay their respects to the pontiff.

Wadiyar has also been in touch with BJP leaders in the area. He met BJP MP Pratap Simha, who had also sought a party ticket to contest again from here, as well as BJP MLC and estranged party leader Vishwanath AH Vishwanath).

Supporting the Maharaja, Vishwanath said Vaidyar should be elected unanimously.

The Bharatiya Janata Party swept the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, winning 25 of Karnataka’s 28 seats, while independents backed by the party also won. At that time, the Congress and JD(S) were in alliance and each won one seat.

Karnataka will go to polls in two phases. The 14 Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern region of the state will go to polls on April 26, while the remaining 14 constituencies in the northern region will go to the second phase of voting on May 7.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)