The byelection to the Udupi-Chikmagalur parliamentary constituency on Sunday is a matter of prestige for all the three major parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) — in the State.
But the stakes are higher for the BJP as this seat was vacated by D.V. Sadananda Gowda after he became the Chief Minister. This bypoll comes on the back of a growing factional feud in the BJP. Should the BJP lose the seat, Mr.Gowda may well lose face. With the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa not campaigning in the constituency, the onus is on Mr. Gowda to prove that he too is a mass political leader.
In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Mr. Sadananda Gowda defeated Congress leader and former Minister K. Jayaprakash Hegde by a margin of 27,018 votes. Third Front candidate Radha Sundaresh of the Communist Party of India (CPI) got 24,991 votes and Steven John Menezes of Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) 9,971 votes.
BJP's performance
In the 2008 Assembly elections, the BJP won seven of the eight segments, while the Congress won only in Karkala.
For this bypoll, the BJP has fielded the former Karkala MLA V. Sunil Kumar, while the Congress has once again reposed faith in Mr. Hegde. The Janata Dal (Secular) has fielded S.L. Bhoje Gowda. Besides these three, there are 11 candidates in the fray, including K. Bharat of the Janata Dal (United).
The BJP has chosen Mr. Kumar for being a known face in both Udupi and Chikmagalur districts. Mr. Gowda has left no stone unturned in campaigning for Mr. Kumar. However, the factional feud and Mr. Yeddyurappa and the fact that Mr. Sunil Kumar is not unanimously liked within the party are negatives for the BJP.
Mr. Hegde's strongest point in the bypoll is that even after his defeat in 2009 elections, he kept in touch with the constituency and toured it regularly. This is acknowledged by the constituents. But the problem for the Congress comes from the JD(S), which is likely to eat into their votes, thereby dividing the secular votes.
