Page 14 - Old Mysore News Today

Though the BJP fielded R. Ashok, the current revenue minister, in the same constituency, his lack of roots in the area is likely to work against him.

Savadi is an influential leader of the Lingayat community, which can determine the electoral outcome in the state.

BJP cadre and leaders were expecting a list full of surprises and new names. But the list has turned out to be a big hype with some cosmetic changes. Even though the party boasts of fielding 52 new faces, most are from Congress and JDS stronghold of Old Mysore, where the BJP is a third player

By deciding to field 52 new faces in the upcoming May 10 election and dropping around a dozen sitting MLAs, the BJP is also looking at trying out the famous ‘Gujarat model’

“The process for the merger began over five months ago. The management of KMF had been convinced completely around Amit Shah’s visit in December 2022,” said a former KMF official.

The politics over milk has taken over headlines in poll-bound Karnataka with ‘Amul versus Nandini’ being made an election issue, especially by opposition parties Congress and JD(S)

Traditionally, this Vokkaliga-dominated belt used to witness a straight fight between the JDS and the Congress.

In private, DK Shivakumar demands that the CM post should naturally go to him and it is non-negotiable. Siddaramaiah argues that he is the most popular mass leader and should be made the CM again. In public, both leave it to the party high command

This is a new kind of politics for a part of the state that has been largely impervious to the BJP’s hardline Hindutva push.

In the 2018 Karnataka election, the incumbent Siddaramaiah-led Congress party lost power, but its performance in terms of vote share was "historic". For the first time in nearly four decades, an incumbent political party had increased its vote share.