The untimely death of Minister for Cooperation and Sugar H.S. Mahadeva Prasad has snatched away from the Congress its lone Lingayat MLA in Mysuru district and the adjoining Chamarajanagar district. It is also expected to pose some political challenge for the ruling party to retain its electoral ground in the region, considered a stronghold of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
Nanjangud bypoll
The death of Mahadeva Prasad, who represented Gundlupet constituency in Chamarajanagar district, has come on the heels of veteran Dalit leader V. Srinivas Prasad parting ways with the Congress and joining the BJP. With the byelection for the Nanjangud Assembly constituency scheduled to be announced soon, the Congress, which is yet to identify a candidate to take on Mr. Srinivas Prasad, will sorely miss the presence of Mahadeva Prasad during campaigning in the constituency with a large number of Lingayat voters.
Mahadeva Prasad, who was part of Mr. Siddaramaiah’s coterie since their Janata Dal days, had managed to bring key cooperative institutions such as Karnataka Milk Federation and Karnataka State Cooperative Marketing Federation under the control of the Congress during his tenure. President of the Karnataka State Sugarcane Growers’ Association Kurubur Shanthakumar said Mahadeva Prasad had managed to escape the ire of sugarcane growers by his adept handling of difficult situations.
The Congress, which had swept Chamarajanagar district by winning all the four Assembly seats in 2013, had emerged as a dominant political force in the region. The party had won 12 of the 15 Assembly seats in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts.
‘Congress, government not moving together’
As political observers in the region are debating over the prospects of the Congress in the region without both Mahadeva Prasad and Mr. Srinivas Prasad, veteran leader A.H. Vishwanath regretted that the Congress and the party government were not moving together.
“Neither the Chief Minister nor the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwar are bothered about the party activities. The party should stir itself into action before the Nanjangud byelection and be prepared for the Assembly elections,” he said.
