BY Raghavendra: Aiming For A Fourth Win From Family Bastion (image: twitter.com/BYRBJP)

BJP leader BY Raghavendra comes from a political family; he is the son of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, and Karnataka”s Shimoga constituency is their bastion. In the upcoming polls, sitting MP is looking for his fourth win from the seat. BY Raghavendra belongs to the Lingayat community, which holds dominant influence in the state.

In his debut election in 2009, BY Raghavendra defeated the late former chief minister and Congress leader S Bangarappa by a margin of 52,893 votes. He also emerged victorious in the 2018 by-election against then Minister for Education and Janata Dal (Secular) leader S Madhu Bangarappa. In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, BY Raghavendra again defeated S Madhu Bangarappa by a margin of 52,148 votes.

In the upcoming elections, the sitting BJP MP will possibly be facing a three-cornered fight with Congress” Geetha Shivarajkumar and the BJP”s KS Eshwarappa as an independent candidate.

Geetha is the daughter of late former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa and wife of Kannada superstar Dr. Shivarajkumar. Earlier, in 2014, she contested the seat on a JD (S) ticket and came in third. BS Yeddyurappa won the election at the time. S Madhu Bangarappa, who was defeated by BY Raghavendra in the 2018 by-elections and the 2019 general elections, is Geetha Shivarajkumar”s brother.

After his son was denied a BJP ticket to contest from the Haveri seat, former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and veteran BJP leader KS Eshwarappa announced that he would contest as an independent candidate from Shimoga. A five-time MLA from the Shimoga assembly segment, Eshwarappa”s announcement came almost a year after he said he was retiring from electoral politics. KS Eshwarappa is one of the well-known Kuruba leaders of the party.