Before the big battle, inner skirmishes reshape the big players
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But there has been so much of dissension in the region that the BJP, which never had a big presence here till now, has been able to woo away Congress rebels. A case in point is Madhu Gowda, son of Made Gowda, ex-Congress MP from Mandya. He's now contesting the Maddur seat, Krishna's former constituency, on a BJP ticket. "If Krishna had a decisive role, he'd have ensured the Congress did not mess up with the ticket distribution on his home turf," feel party workers.
Krishna's low profile is also explained in two other ways. A former legislator says: "There may be a fear in the party that if Krishna is projected over Kharge, the Dalit votes may drift to the BSP." The other argument is that since there is a perception that it'll be a hung verdict, projecting Krishna as CM is a futile exercise since he would anyway not be acceptable to a coalition partner—which by default is assumed to be the JD(S).
But Krishna loyalists feel it's a little far-fetched to say that Dalit votes will slide if Kharge is not given prominence. They point out that the BSP is in the fray in all 224 constituencies, so the Dalit vote will get split anyway. "Also, the Dalit vote is not homogeneous, the BSP is likely to attract the votes of the Madiga community among SCs, who were traditionally with the Congress." The Congress does not have any prominent Madiga leader.
Although campaigning will be frenetic in the next few weeks, many leaders are also gearing up for what will be hectic post-poll activity. If the outcome is a hung house, then both the BJP and the Congress will have to woo Deve Gowda. Will it then be a repeat of 2004? The humble farmer has already declared that "no national party can come to power without JD(S) support".