BJP's decision to field two sitting ministers – R Ashoka and V Somanna – against Congress’ Chief Ministerial faces, DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, took many by surprise. But the move has more to do with BJP’s internal politics than with defeating the two Congress leaders.
On the surface, it looks like the BJP is doing away with the tradition of fielding weak candidates against veterans. Siddaramaiah has won from Varuna twice. His vote share was over 50% when he had last contested in Varuna in 2013. But with significant Lingayat voters in Varuna, the BJP hopes that Somanna, who also hails from the same community, will successfully split Siddaramaiah’s votes. Even in Kanakapura, where DK Shivakumar has been winning since 1989, Ashoka, who is one of BJP’s Vokkaliga faces, is fielded with the expectation of splitting the community votes.
If the two BJP candidates manage to put up a tough fight, it could compel the Congress bigwigs to dedicate time campaigning in their own constituencies, limiting their campaign in other parts of the state.
In the run-up to the candidate list announcement, Somanna, who had joined the BJP from Congress in 2008, had been in a rebellious mood. He had been demanding a ticket for his son and had reportedly even threatened to shift back to Congress if his demands were not met. With BS Yediyurappa stepping down from electoral politics, there was an attempt by Somanna to portray himself as the party’s next Lingayat face. But the BJP high command had vehemently refused to accommodate his son in the candidate list. Somanna's hard negotiation, publicly speaking against Yediyurappa and his son speaking out of turn in the media cost Somanna the senior leaders’ goodwill.
On the other hand, Ashoka was vying for space as the BJP’s Vokkaliga face. Another minister CN Ashwath Narayan was pushed to handle Ramanagara district – dominated by Vokkaliga voters – and this led to dissatisfaction among Ashoka’s supporters. A party source said that the high command feels that Ashoka has been rewarded with plum positions in the party and government for many years and has also been made Deputy Chief Minister, and now it is time for him to be pushed out of his comfort zone.
If the two BJP leaders win at least a sizeable number of votes in Varuna and Kanakapura, it will give the party a foothold in the constituencies. If they fail to perform impressively, then it will be held against them in future appointments, clarify their position within the community and keep them in check from infighting within BJP. The party has decided to challenge them, and irrespective of how they perform, it will be an advantage for the BJP.