The talk of Mandya town: Whom will the massive turnout favour?

While JD(S) leaders believe the high polling percentage will help Nikhil, others see it as a possible ‘swing’ in favour of Sumalatha

The massive voter turnout of 80.24% in Mandya Lok Sabha constituency in the election held on Thursday has set off speculation on what result it could point to, with both the rival camps reading it in their favour.

The constituency, where Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s son K. Nikhil of the JD(S) is pitted against BJP-backed Independent candidate Sumalatha, saw the most intensive campaign this season and eventually a very high voter turnout. The polling in the constituency was 10.01 percentage points higher than that in the 2014 general elections (70.23%) and 26.31 percentage points higher than that in the 2018 byelection (53.93%).

Election Commission figures show that of the eight Assembly segments in Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, Melkote recorded the highest polling of 86.54%, while Mandya recorded the least of 74.78%. The polling percentage in the other Assembly segments are Malavalli (76.68), Maddur (82.47), Srirangapatna (81.91), Krishnaraja Pet (80.19), Nagamangala (81.47), and Krishnaraja Nagar (79.31).

With the fate of candidates now secure in electronic voting machines, the speculation is on what the turnout indicates about the results.

JD(S) leaders argue that “strict instructions” issued by State party leaders to ensure the victory of Mr. Nikhil had resulted in workers trying extra hard to bring every supporter of the party to booths, in turn, resulting in a very high turnout. This would work in Mr. Nikhil’s favour, they said. “Many voters who would otherwise not travel back from other cities to vote were convinced to come,” said a party worker.

Others, however, see it as a possible “swing” in favour of Ms. Sumalatha. “A series of controversial remarks made against Ms. Sumalatha by her opponents, intense and emotional campaign by her, entry of actors Darshan and Yash, and backing of the BJP and the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, may have encouraged people to cast their votes in her favour,” said Nanjundappa, a retired political science lecturer.

The election in Mandya this time saw intense campaigning leveraging on various factors. While caste issue was constantly at play — with a debate on who is a “true” Vokkaliga, the dominant caste of the region and a support base of the JD(S) — there were strong counters to this too. The Sumalatha camp constantly played on the legacy of her actor-husband late M.H. Ambareesh, who has a strong emotional resonance in the region.