Water woes weigh on Deve Gowda's election from Tumkur

Struggling with water scarcity, people in Tumkur are in a Catch-22 situation on whether to vote for JD(S) chief H D Deve Gowda or thwart the expansion of his dynasty politics and vote his rival BJP candidate to victory.

Deve Gowda has left his home turf Hassan to one of his grandsons and is seeking re-election from Tumkur, a Congress bastion and major industrial city, about 70 km from the state capital Bengaluru.

Discontent is growing among people including JD(S) workers who feel Deve Gowda is preparing the ground to politically expand his family's influence.

Also, the sitting Congress MP wanted to contest from Tumkur and this could have a bearing on Deve Gowda's election. But the JD(S) has said issues with Congress on this matter have been resolved and the two parties are campaigning together in the constituency.

An interesting contest unfolds in the constituency as Deve Gowda, a Vokkaliga, has locked horn in a two-cornered contest with BJP candidate G S Basavaraj, a Lingayat.

Basavaraj is contesting for the eighth time since starting in 1984, out of which he had won thrice on a Congress ticket and once on a BJP ticket (2009).

He was defeated by Muddahanume Gowda of Congress in 2014.

This time, JD(S) is seeking votes with a promise of development and to address the water woes in the constituency, a dry-land region.

The BJP candidate is banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity. He is also trying to convince people it was Deve Gowda's party which did not ensure adequate release of water from river Hemavathi, despite being in power in the state in alliance with the Congress.

Basavaraj said Deve Gowda may not get much support from Congress voters as people are annoyed due to non-release of 24 TMC of water from Hemavathi river.

Tumkur has a share of 24 TMC from Hemavathi river.

But, Basavaraj alleged, Deve Gowda has issued specific instruction to his son and state PWD Minister H D Revanna to "not release water for this region, much of which has been diverted to Hassan which Deve Gowda considers his true home."