A Sholay of a different kind in Ramanagaram

Hegde’s daughter takes on Gowda Jr in Karnataka town where the famous movie was filmed

RAMANAGARAM: In this rocky terrain made famous by the all-time blockbuster Sholay, a battle royale is being played out for the Karnataka assembly polls. The dramatis personae are the creme de la creme of state politics — Mamta Hegde Nichani, daughter of former chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde, and HD Kumaraswamy, former CM and son of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda.

The task is cut out for both. The constituency is located about 40 km from Bangalore, once represented by Hegde (1983-85) as well as Gowda (1994-96). Now both Mamta and Kumaraswamy are seeking to make Ramanagaram, the Ramgarh of Sholay that was filmed here, their own when the constituency goes to the polls on May 10.

Kumaraswamy is seeking re-election on the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) ticket after winning in 2004 for the first time and going on to become chief minister in February 2006 to rule the state for 20 months in alliance with Bharatiya Janata Party.

In a surprise move, the Congress decided to field Mamta, who joined the party two years ago, to take on Kumaraswamy in a triangular contest that also has N Rudresh of the BJP. Four independents are in the fray too.

Although a novice in electoral politics, 51-year-old Mamta launched her campaign a day after filing her nomination April 24. With the backing of the Congress, she has been extensively touring the vast constituency across the newly-formed Ramanagaram district and about 200 far-flung villages in four taluks. Mamta has been undertaking door-to-door canvassing and road-side meetings. She is banking on the goodwill and respect her late father.

“I had the privilege of accompanying my father for campaigning in this constituency 25 years ago and in almost every state and parliamentary election since then. Though I entered politics two years ago, I am not new to electioneering, as I too canvassed for him and his party (Janata Dal) and learnt a lot to woo voters,” Mamta said.

Conscious of her limitations as a woman and a Brahmin in a caste-ridden constituency dominated by the Vokkaligas to which Kumaraswamy belongs, Mamta is betting on the ‘hand’ symbol of her party (Congress), with which a majority of the electorate are still familiar with.

Kumaraswamy, on the other hand, is counting on the image he created during his 20-month rule, especially among the youth. He is confident of retaining his seat with a huge margin this time. But the ‘betrayal’ tag for not transferring power in October 2007 to the BJP, haunts. So Kumaraswamy is not taking chances.

Wary of the Congress strategy to deliberately field Mamta under an astrological belief that any member of the Gowda family would lose the poll battle if pitted against a woman candidate, Kumaraswamy is campaigning more seriously than before.