It's no 'chikka' battle here

CHIKKABALLAPUR: The name may be 'chikka' (small) but for a true heavyweight constituency in the state it would be difficult to beat Chikkaballapur.
In the fray are Veerappa Moily, a former chief minister and current Union minister with a big portfolio, oil – as he repeatedly reminded the audience; former chief minister and a Union ministership aspirant HD Kumaraswamy of the JD(S); former Karnataka labour minister BN Bachhe Gowda of the BJP and K Arakesh, a former IG of police who is the AAP candidate.
Kumaraswamy's last-minute decision to shift to Chikkaballapur from his erstwhile stronghold Bangalore Rural has queered the pitch here. A tough triangular fight is on the cards in the seat situated south-east of Karnataka.
Chikkaballapur is used to big names. It's, after all, the birthplace of Tipu Sultan (in Devanahalli), and Sir M Visvesvaraya (at Muddenahalli) and now houses Bangalore's flagship Kempegowda International Airport (KIA).
Moily, who is seeking re-election, is hoping that the trend of the last 30 years of the constituency of not electing a Vokkaliga –though the community has a sizeable presence - continues. He's also banking heavily on the Yettinahole multipurpose water project which is expected to provide both drinking water to this ever thirsty place as well as meet the farming/irrigation needs of the region.
"This (Chikkaballapur) is the most secular constituency as it has elected people from all segments of the society. When I came all the way from Dakshina Kannada in 2009, people, without asking me to which caste and community I belonged, voted for me and made me win by a huge margin," Moily said while canvassing in Chikkaballapur.
He, however, dismissed reports that he was not a frequent visitor to the constituency after getting elected. "It is propaganda of the JD(S) and BJP. I am here every weekend and have lived up to the expectations of the people. It is out of jealousy that the opposition parties are spreading rumours," Moily hit back.
Moily's ambitious Yettinahole scheme has run into controversy with the opposition claiming that the project was inaugurated without checking its feasibility. BJP's Bachhe Gowda wanted to know why the "bhoomi puja" for it was done at the receiving end and not at the water source. "Every big project has to have some kind of controversy and Yettinahole is one of them. The project will be implemented. The civil work on it will begin within the next fortnight and water will be there in a couple of years. I want to thank CM Siddaramaiah for sanctioning nearly Rs 13,000 crore towards it in one shot," Moily said.
He obviously hopes that his rivals - Kumaraswamy and Bachhe Gowda (even Arakesh is a Vokkaliga) - will split the Vokkaliga votes and help him mop up the rest. Speculation is that Kumaraswamy fancies being a Union minister in case the Third Front forms the government. The JD(S) is hoping to get 4-5 seats. As he isn't the opposition leader in the assembly or the JD(S) state president, Kumaraswamy is eyeing a role in Delhi. Though Kumaraswamy plunged late into the fray, he has gained ground in the constituency.
Comprising eight assembly segments, Congress has four MLAs representing Doddaballapur, Chikkaballapur, Gouribidanur and Hoskote. Independent SN Subba Reddy from Bagepalli joined the Congress recently. JD(S) is represented by two MLAs in Devanahalli and Nelamangala and BJP has only one seat in Yelahanka.
Besides Vokkaligas and minorities, the Balija community has always been the deciding factor. The Balijas, who have about 3 lakh (of the total 16 lakh) votes in the constituency, appear to be supporting the BJP as BS Yeddyurappa as CM had included the community under 2A reserved category from the earlier 3A. Later the high court stayed the order as it was not according to recommendations of the Backward Classes Commission.