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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Bommai enjoyed Muslim support in his Shiggaon constituency until recently. However, his government’s decision to withdraw Muslim reservations changes the equation
Karnataka Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday, April 19, filed his nomination from his traditional seat of Shiggaon for the state assembly polls scheduled to take place on May 10.
Bommai was flanked by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief JP Nadda, who did a massive roadshow, and popular Kannada actor Kicha Sudeep.
While addressing an election rally with his party chief, Nadda, Bommai, who hails from the influential Lingayat community, said there is pending work to do as he sought people’s support for him to win again. “I am the son of Shiggaon and will remain so,” he said.
But despite all the starry power and the emotional appeal, the fact is that Bommai’s chance of representing Shiggaon for the fourth consecutive time might depend upon a lot of factors.
Shiggaon has close to 2.14 lakh registered voters, of which both Lingayats and Muslims comprise close to 75,000 each. Another 20,000 voters belong to the Kuruba community, another 20,000 to the SC category, and around 17,000 to the ST category.
Until recently, Bommai did enjoy the support of Muslims in the area. However, things changed following the hijab issue. It will be interesting to see if the Bommai government’s decision to remove the four per cent reservation for Muslims, to accommodate the demands of a higher reservation by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, will affect the voting pattern in this crucial seat.
The 63-year-old CM, who is the son of former Karnataka chief minister and Janata Parivar veteran late SR Bommai, served as Home Minister in the BS Yediyurappa government. He became the Chief Minister in 2021 after the veteran leader stepped down from the post.
Bommai started his political career with the Janata Dal and was a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council twice (in 1998 and 2004) from the Dharwad local authorities constituency. He had also served as Parliament Secretary to the Chief Minister and as Deputy Leader of the Opposition.
Bommai quit the Janata Dal (United) and joined the BJP in 2008. In the assembly elections, held later that year, he got elected as MLA from Shiggaon. He then went on to retain the seat in the 2013 and 2018 Assembly polls. Bommai won the 2018 assembly polls by 9,260 votes.
Despite the presence of a sizeable number of Muslim votes, the Congress appears to be on the corridor of uncertainty as they changed their original candidate.
They first announced Yusuf Savnoor as their candidate to take on CM Bommai. However, they later changed their candidate and gave the ticket to Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan.
After coming in second place three times to Bommai, Congress decided to drop former MLA Kadri Syed Azempeer Syed Kadar Basha. In Pathan, the party is putting its money on a fresh face who is also a strong Muslim leader. Congress is hoping Pathan can raise the issues of rights and freedom for Muslims. They also hope Pathan will showcase how the BJP mismanaged the community’s trust.
Wednesday also saw some of the big names file their nominations. Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from the Varuna constituency, while BY Vijayendra, son of BJP strongman BS Yediyurappa, filed his nomination from the Shikaripura constituency.
