Quick-change artiste C.P. Yogeshwar’s dream run ends

Beginning his political career as an independent, Mr. Yogeshwar has had multiple stints in the BJP and the Congress, and one in the SP too.

C.P. Yogeshwar. File

Changing parties at every election had ensured that actor-turned-politician C.P. Yogeshwar remained the undisputed winner from Channapatna.

But JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy’s entry has ended Mr. Yogeshwar’s dream run.

Mr. Yogeshwar first entered politics in 1999 and won as an independent. He then joined the Congress and contested successfully in 2004 and 2008. He quit the Congress in 2009 and contested the by-elections from Channapatna on BJP ticket. Though he lost, he contested another by-election in 2011 successfully and went on to become a BJP Minister. But in 2013, he quit the BJP and joined the Samajwadi Party. But soon, he severed links with the SP and returned to the Congress.

Just ahead of the 2018 polls, he rejoined the BJP.

He faced his biggest political challenge as he took on Mr. Kumaraswamy, and failed.