Davanagere Lok Sabha Polls: It's All in the Families in This Karnataka Constituency

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Davanagere is one of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka which comprises eight assembly segments spread over Devanagere and Vijaynagara districts

Davanagere is one of 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in Karnataka which comprises eight assembly segments spread over Devanagere and Vijaynagara districts. The assembly segments are Jagalur (Congress), Harapanahalli (Independent), Harihar (BJP), Davanagere North (Congress), Davanagere South (Congress), Mayakonda (Congress), Channagiri (Congress) and Honnali (Congress). The current MP is GM Siddeshwara of BJP while those in the fray for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are Gayathri Siddeshwar (BJP), Prabha Mallikarjun (Congress), and Vinay Kumar GB (Independent). The constituency will vote in phase 3 on May 7 and results will be declared on June 4.

Political Dynamics

BJP Banks on Development and Modi: The BJP has continuously held Davanagere Lok Sabha constituency since 1999. Since 2004, senior leader GM Siddeshwara has been representing the constituency in the Lok Sabha. This time, the BJP has entrusted his wife, Gayathri Siddeshwara, with the responsibility of winning the seat. Davanagere is a BJP bastion of sorts, which no party has been able to breach since 1999 when it comes to Lok Sabha polls. However, when one looks at the assembly constituencies, the Congress has MLAs in six of them. In the 2023 assembly polls, the BJP could bag just one assembly constituency — Harihar. Harapanahali, meanwhile, was won by an independent candidate. The Congress emerged victorious on all the other segments. This is what has filled with Grand Old Party with confidence for its prospects in the ongoing elections. On ground, the voters are happy with the BJP’s vision of development. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship schemes, like providing houses, tap water and electricity connections, free ration, LPG connections, health insurance and other basic amenities are benefitting people to a large extent.
BJP’s Challenges: However, the BJP has had to face its fair share of problems here. First, the party is combatting allegations that a single family has dominated the politics of Davanagere for decades now — that of Gayathri Siddeshwara. Her husband has been an MP since 2004, while her father-in-law, G Mallikarjunappa, had represented the constituency from 1996 to 1998 and then from 1999 to 2004. In fact, the BJP’s decision to field Gayathri Siddeshwara had invited the ire of other influential leaders in the constituency, including former minister SA Ravindranath, MP Renukacharya and G Karunakara Reddy. The trio even organised a protest meet where slogans against Gayathri Siddeshwara were raised, following which the rebels asked the BJP’s high command to change the candidate. It was the intervention of BS Yediyurappa that brought the BJP’s divided house back in order. A team of BJP leaders comprising parliamentary board member Yediyurappa successfully doused the rebellion in the district unit of the party after a three-hour meeting on March 26. SA Ravindranath has consequently been entrusted with the election responsibilities here. It is estimated that the constituency has got over 50,000 new voters, mostly youth. The constituency is home to an equal number of Veerashiva-Lingayats and Kurubas, followed by Valmiki Nayakas, Muslims, Dalits, Upparas, Devangas, and other communities. For the saffron party, ensuring Hindu voter consolidation is crucial. The Lingayat vote, as always, remains of utmost importance to the BJP.
Congress Hopes for the Best: The Congress is buoyed by its win in the assembly elections of Karnataka last year. Add to that, the Congress won six assembly segments of Davanagere. This appears to have convinced the party that it stands a chance of defeating the BJP. On ground, the Congress is putting its best foot forward. The Congress campaign appears to be more visible and catchier, even though the contest itself may be neck-to-neck. The Congress is attacking the BJP for the fact that the saffron candidate, Gayathri Siddeshwara, happens to belong to a strong family which has been involved, and in fact dominated, the region’s politics for decades. The irony here is that the Congress’ own candidate, Prabha Mallikarjun, is also from an influential family involved in politics. In fact, the BJP and Congress candidates’ families are also related to each other. Prabha Mallikarjun’s husband, SS Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Congress government of the state.
Rebellion in Ranks: While the BJP’s internal tussle seems to have been quelled, the rebellion Congress faces is much more severe, and promises to dent the party’s prospects on polling day. The decision to field Prabha Mallikarjun has not gone down well with a section of Congress leaders, especially Vinay Kumar GB. Vinay Kumar, an up-and-coming politician in the constituency, is the founder of Insights IAS. He has grown a substantial base among young voters. For the Congress, Vinay Kumar represents a big thorn in its path to victory in Davanagere. Fighting as an independent candidate, he is expected to a cause a significant dent to the Congress’ vote share. Vinay Kumar GB was hopeful that the Congress ticket for Davanagere will be given to him. However, with Prabha Mallikarjun being fielded, Vinay Kumar was left enraged and believing that the decision to not field him had a lot to do with him not having a family member as a minister in the state cabinet. This is why despite Congress’ many attempts, and Siddaramaiah’s own intervention, Vinay Kumar could not be convinced to withdraw his nomination. Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and Davangere South constituency MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa made a highly distasteful remark against the BJP candidate. Speaking at a party workers’ meeting, Shivashankarappa disparaged Siddeshwara’s qualifications, claiming that she lacks the ability to address public issues effectively. He added that “they know only to cook in the kitchen” in a misogynistic take on women at large.

Key Issues

Demand for an Airport: For quite some time now, the people of Davanagere have been demanding an airport here to improve the constituency’s connectivity with other parts of the state and the country at large. Last year, former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai revealed that five new airports are being built in Shivamogga, Vijayapura, Hassan, Raichur and Karwar. He also said the feasibility studies for airports at Davanagere and Koppal have been completed. However, any further movement on development of these two airports is yet to be seen. Voters in Davanagere, therefore, are yet to see one of their biggest demands getting fulfilled. Importantly, Davanagere is referred to as the ‘Manchester of Karnataka’. What puzzles people on the ground is why despite such a loaded tag, the constituency is yet to get an airport of its own.
Special Economic Zone: Voters of Davanagere also want to see a special economic zone being set up in their constituency. In the past, the constituency was referred to as the “industrial hub” of Karnataka. However, in recent year, this hub has been losing its sheen. Most of the industries in the district, including Anjaneya Cotton Mill, have shut shop. People hope that with the creation of a special economic zone, industries will feel incentivised to set base in the constituency.
Unemployment and Migration: The exodus of industries from Davanagere has exacerbated the already severe unemployment situation here. In the absence of employment opportunities, people are being forced to look for jobs elsewhere in the state and country.
Civic Issues: People also want an improvement in the civic infrastructure of Davanagere. While the education scene looks pretty much sorted, there is a growing demand for the constituency’s health infrastructure to be improved. Besides, there are also complaints that development is unevenly progressing. For example, the allegation is that while South Davanagere is seeing substantial development, North Davanagere is not. Similarly, there is a concern that the border areas of the constituency are being neglected.
Hindutva: With the Karnataka government including Muslims in the OBC category, polarisation on religious lines is expected to pick up pace. The BJP will be hoping that allegations of Congress being a Muslim-first party will reap electoral dividends for it. Meanwhile, the Ram Mandir inauguration and the BJP’s own image of being rooted in Sanatan culture is expected to boost the party’s prospects. There is also Love Jihad — which the BJP has been aggressively posturing against recently.
Development: The clear consensus among the people of Davanagere is that they want to see a major development push happening throughout the constituency. This is expected to benefit the BJP, which has of late associated itself almost exclusively with development and the idea of a “Viksit Bharat”. Development will be one of the deciding factors when Davanagere goes to polls.

Development

Vande Bharat and Railways Work: Davanagere is connected to the Vande Bharat express since 2023. The Bengaluru-Dharwad Vande Bharat has a stoppage at Davanagere railway station, providing people here with the luxury of travelling on what is India’s best passenger train yet. Meanwhile, in March, the state government had sanctioned Rs 50 crore for railway work on the Tumakuru-Davangere route. The Tumakuru-Davangere railway project will connect Tumakuru with central Karnataka, is important from the perspective of the state’s development facilitating faster commute to parts of North Karnataka.
Software Technology Park: In 2022, the Karnataka government (at the time of the BJP) had announced the establishment of a Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) centre in the district headquarters town of Davanagere. The centre, spread across 10,000 square feet, has plug-n-play 102-seater incubation facility, network operations centre, 16-seater conference room and provisions for high-speed data communication facilities and other amenities and services. The same year, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated a Digital India start-up hub at the STPI centre at Davanagere.
Six-Lane Highway: In 2023, Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari announced a six-lane national highway project between Chitradurga and Davangere which is expected to speed up the connectivity between both the towns in Karnataka. The 72-kilometer national highway will cost the central government Rs 1,400 crore and it will be built using sustainable methods. Work on the project is said to be ongoing.