Meticulous ground work helped BJP capture new ground

Saffron surge

Statistically, the BJP’s chances were lean in Sira, a constituency located in Tumakuru district of the Old Mysuru region that served as a Vokkaliga fortress of the Congress and JD(S).

Seemingly, the numbers stacked up against the BJP: Some 75,000 Vokkaligas and just 5,000 Lingayats. Also, the BJP’s own previous record did not inspire hope. The party’s maximum number of votes here were 24,025 in the 2008 elections.

On Tuesday, however, the BJP breached the seat that it had never won.

Swinging this bypoll rested on the shoulders of Deputy Chief Ministers Govind Karjol and C N Ashwath Narayan, party general secretary N Ravi Kumar, party vice-president B Y Vijayendra and Bangalore Central MP P C Mohan.

Largely, Kumar and Vijayendra are being credited with the party’s victory.

“We had neglected the party’s organisation here,” Kumar, who helped the BJP defeat Congress giant Mallikarjun Kharge in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, told DH.

“Starting September 1 and till polling (November 3), we were there. The first thing we did was to form committees for each of the 264 booths by roping in people who could perform and identify where we were strong or weak. That created the base,” he explained.

The BJP’s candidate was radiologist C M Rajesh Gowda, who was up against six-time Congress legislator and former minister T B Jayachandra and Ammajamma of the JD(S).

All three candidates belonged to the Kunchitiga subgroup of the Vokkaliga community.

“Our past candidates B K Manjunath and S R Gowda would not have won. Our candidate had to be a Kunchitiga Vokkaliga and a good one,” Kumar said.

Vijayendra landed in Sira on October 15 and stayed put in the constituency. He carried with him the experience of making the BJP win in KR Pet, another Vokkaliga-dominated seat.

The BJP team reached out to 22 communities - Kadu Gollas, Kunchitiga Vokkaligas, Kurubas, Bahusar Kshatriyas, Balijas among others - and drummed up support for the party. The leaders also took up the issue of filling up, which connected with the people.

Finally, Gowda won by a margin of over 13,000 votes.

“There was a perception that the BJP is a party of upper castes and that it can’t win in the Old Mysuru region. The (Sira) result has proved this wrong,” Vijayendra said.

The Sira win is expected to catapult Vijayendra’s standing in the party and some say this would help him emerge out of his chief minister father B S Yediyurappa’s shadow.