BJP hopes JD(S) to eat into secular votes to defeat Congress

TNN

Udupi, 16 March 2012: As D-Day nears, the infighting-ridden and Porngate-tainted BJP is heavily banking on JD(S) to work its charm to eat into secular vote bank to defeat its arch rival Congress, which almost gave it a scare last time.

 

What is worrying the BJP is the fact that the party still has not been able to read the pulse of people, especially Vokkaligas, who are yet to make a decision, after various scams that rocked the government.After the 2007 delimitation of constituencies, the Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency has become more diverse and has been a challenge for parties to read. The four each assembly segments in Chikmagalur and Udupi districts are as diverse as the weather in the coastal and Malnad districts. "Though the party has won all but one in the eight segments, that is not much of a solace as political equations have changed since the assembly elections,’’ says a BJP insider.

 

 

Sources in the BJP say the Yeddyurappa factor will not play out much in the coast, but will affect in Malnad region, in case if he wants to play truant. JD(S) leaders say that their presence will be a blessing to Congress as minorities will en masse vote for Hegde, avoiding the split in secular votes.As far as candidates go, Hegde has an advantage with all top leaders campaigning in a rare show of unity, which is being negated by the hectic campaigning of C M D V Sadananda Gowda, who has taken it as a matter of prestige. Also, this by-poll has seen many stars and actors descending upon the constituencies from both the parties to add colour.

 

Another worrisome factor for the national parties is the somewhat disengaged electorate. If the polling percentage, which was 62% in 2009, goes down, the margin of victory and defeat will be thinner, making each and every vote bagged by independents very significant.In 2009 polls BJP’s Sadananda Gowda won by a margin of 27,018 against Congress candidate Jayaprakash Hedge, with third front candidate Radha Sundaresh being the spoiler with 24,991 votes.