Karnataka bypolls: Shamanur family continues its hold over Davanagere

An incumbent Minister, a Member of Parliament, and now, a member of the third generation trying to retain a seat represented by his grandfather — that sums up the political influence the Shamanur family wields in Davangere city, once known as “Manchester of Karnataka” owing to the presence of numerous cotton mills.

As the campaigning for the byelection to Davangere South Assembly constituency is picking up, questions are being raised about the Shamanur family’s decades-long hold over the constituency and whether it will be able to retain the influence in the absence of “the grand old man”, Shamanur Shivashankarappa, whose death has necessitated the bypoll.

Local body election

It was in 1969 that Shivashankarappa’s stint with the Congress started. He won the municipal council election in Davangere and subsequently became the president in the next couple of years. After a long stint as treasurer of the State Cognress Committee, Shivashankarappa entered the Assembly for the first time in 1994 from Davangere Assembly Constituency. As he successfully contested the parliamentary election in 1998, his son S.S. Mallikarjun took over and defended the seat in the byelection and then retained it 1999. Shivashankarappa against contested and won it in 2004.

Due to delimitation in 2008, the Davangere Assembly segment lost its existence and got bifurcated into Davangere North and South Assembly constituencies. Ever since then, the Davangere South Assembly constituency has been with the family, with Shivashankarappa winning it in 2008, 2013, 2018, and 2023 successively. He also went on to become a Minister. For the past three decades, the constituency has been under the control of the Shamanur family, with father winning it six times and son two times.

Post delimitation, the family has also been able to win the other Assembly constituency (Davangere North) twice. The victory of Prabha Mallikarjun, daughter-in-law of Shivashankarappa and wife of Mr. Mallikarjun in 2024 parliamentary elections points towards the increasing political clout of the family in the region.

Political analysts are of the opinion that the empire built by Shivashankarappa, mainly through educational institutions and industries, through which various philanthropic activities are initiated, and his influence over Lingayat voters as president of Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha (a representative body of Lingayat community), have together had considerable electoral impact. As he headed the Mahasabha, Shivashankarappa wielded influence over the members of the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community across the State in general and in particular his constituency, where Lingayats are in sizeable number.

Minorities factor

Importantly, the family’s bonhomie with the minorities is one of the major contributing factor to the family’s successive victories. However, before every election, there have been voices demanding representation to Muslims.

But every time, the Shamanur family has managed to win over the minorities before the polls, and seems to have done so this time too. Considering the fact that the minorities are the deciding factor in the byelection, BJP leaders are apparently trying to convince them that electing Samarth Shamanur (Congress candidate) would mean no representation for the Muslims for the next five decades. Will it work is the moot question.