The busy town Arakalagudu, on the banks of river Hemavathi in Hassan district in Karnataka, symbolises a decisive political battle.
Former Foreign Minister and a senior Congress leader SM Krishna, a Vokkaliga leader, (Vokkaligas are a dominant agrarian community in Karnataka) is campaigning for Congress candidate A Manju.
It signifies a united Congress taking on an 81-year-old former Prime Minister and Janata Dal(S) supremo — HD Deve Gowda — who is fighting perhaps the last electoral battle of his life.
Deve Gowda has been seeking votes by reminding the voters that this election could be his political swan song. This election is also going to decide the fate of his party, which has lost its vote-share in past few successive elections.
Deve Gowda’s son HD Kumaraswamy, who is contesting from Chikkaballapur against Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily, has also been seeking votes by saying “if you vote for JD(S), my father will become Prime Minister again.”
Gowda, a five-term MP, lost from Hassan only once, in 1999. In 2009, he hinted it might be his last election and Hassan elected him with a record margin of over two lakh. In 2013, the JD(S) won six of the eight Assembly segments. Gowdas who often weep while campaigning at the drop of a hat have been struggling to keep the party’s supremacy in the region intact.
CM Siddaramaiah, who is also playing the backward classes politics to the hilt, has made things difficult for Deve Gowda. Siddaramaiah has put all his might in defeating Deve Gowda and his family.
Out of eight Assembly segments, six MlAs hold JD(S) card and two MlAs, including A Manju are from the Congress party.
“I am confident of my victory over Deve Gowda, who has completely ignored Hassan. He is only worried about his family. The JD(S) has become his family affair. People are fed up with him and they need a change,” said a confident Manju.
The BJP has put up Vijayashankar, who is struggling with the tag of being an outsider. Vijayashankar, a former MP from Mysore, was annoyed with the party for not giving him a seat from Mysore.
The election is crucial and decisive for Gowda and his party in Karnataka.
The JD(S), which drew its strength from Vokkaliga consolidation, is faced with the threat of drift from backward classes and Vokkaliga towards Congress. It is evident from the fact that JD(S) suffered major setback in Assembly elections and by polls in Vokkaliga heartland in Mandya. Many feel that the old Mysore region where Gowda used to play his politics with his community support is tilting towards the Congress.
In a Congress election rally at Hassan recently, Siddaramaiah directly accused Gowda and his family of amassing huge wealth. He said, “Gowda and his family members have properties worth thousands of crores.”
Manju has his support base in Arakalgud, Belur and Hassan and is banking on the Kuruba community of Siddaramaiah.
Deve Gowda is trying to strike a chord among the voters saying this will be his last election. In 2009 he won by a margin of 2, 89,161 votes defeating KH Hanume Gowda of the BJP. In the changing political equations at Hassan, Gowda is facing a litmus test in his backyard and there is a lurking fear that his swansong may not be as sweet as he expects it to be.