Bengaluru: In what seems to be a major shuffle and surprise, the BJP top brass is mulling the prospects of swapping the constituencies of two prominent candidates, Union minister DV Sadananda Gowda and Shobha Karandlaje.

Presently Gowda is an MP from the Bangalore North constituency while Shobha is an MP from Udupi-Chikkmagaluru.

If the move to swap the constituencies of these two strong leaders does materialise, it will indeed be sending out a strong message to the party cadres.

But in the first place, why did the elders even conceive of such a plan?

Well, there are talks that the party workers in the region are not happy with the way Shobha is conducting herself. One, they feel that she is distancing herself from the local connect, considered to be a sine qua non or a must to improve her chances of winning. A case in point is that Shobha didn’t attend the funeral of a very senior party worker.

Another school of thought is that she wants to keep herself aloof from national politics and concentrate more on state politics.

And on the other end is Gowda who has had a good success in the Bangalore North constituency filled with Vokkaliga voters. As he assumes his candidacy is a cinch and sinecure, he has even inaugurated an office in his constituency keeping in mind that he would be given a ticket.

But the last-minute probable change can induce some confusion and soothe some fraying tempers. Prominently, it will be state BJP president BS Yeddyurappa who will be calmed if Shobha is asked to contest from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru. Two, Shobha is a prominent and popular leader from the Yeshawantapura area, and her chances of winning are not compromised with.

On the other hand, Gowda also hails from Dakshina Kannada district. So he would not seem an outsider to the citizenry of that area.
This is how the BJP hopes to hit two birds with one stone and keep its voting tally high.