Summary:
With Tumakuru and Bengaluru North not considered ‘safe’ seats for Gowda’s stature, returning to his bastion of Hassan or Mandya may antagonise his grandsons Prajwal Hegde and Nikhil Kumaraswamy and could give room for family infighting. This is creating a rift within the party rank and file. The coalition partners are also struggling to find winnable candidates in North Karnataka constituencies such as Belagavi, Dharwad, Bagalkot, Haveri and Davanagere.The two parties are also at a loss of strategy over the three coastal seats of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, Uttara Kannada and Dakshina Kannada, all bastions of the BJP. BENGALURU: With exactly a month to go for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, the three major political parties are still scouting for candidates across the state.Issues associated with coalition politics between JD(S) and Congress , family politics in JD(S) and lack of winnable horses in the BJP stable are hurting the three major political parties. Furthermore, the alliance with the JD(S) has left the Congress rank and file in tatters with the local leadership raising a banner of rebellion.Gowda’s candidature alone has left no less than four constituencies — Bengaluru North, Tumakuru, Mandya and Hassan — in political uncertainty..