Another election, another party: The curious case of Channapatna's Yogeeshwara

So how it all began? It's quite a long story.

Began as Independent

In 1999, for the first time, Yogeeshwara contested from Channapatna as an Independent candidate and emerged victorious. He joined Congress and contested and won in Channapatna in the 2004 and 2008 Assembly elections. In 2009, he fought the Lok Sabha polls on a BJP ticket from the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency but lost to HD Kumaraswamy of JD(S).

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In the 2011 bypolls, however, Yogeeshwara won from Channapatna and became the Forest Minister. In 2013, he defeated Kumaraswamy’s wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, on a Samajwadi Party ticket in which Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav campaigned for him. But, a year later, he ditched SP and joined the Congress.

In fact, according to Yogeeshwara's close aide, a team of leaders from SP met Yogeeshwara even three days ago and offered him a ticket from the party again. “But he was determined to join the Congress, which had also promised him a ticket,” the aide The Federal..

No JD(S) please!

Just six months before the 2018 Assembly polls, Yogeeshwara quit Congress and joined BJP, which did not help him in anyway as HD Kumaraswamy defeated him twice in 2018 and 2023.

“This is the reason Yogeeshwara refused to contest on the JD(S) symbol, though an offer was made to him by Kumaraswamy,” said Maddur MLA Uday Gowda, who played a role in bringing Yogeeshwara back into the Congress fold. Ironically, Yogeeshwara is said to have played a key role in engineering defections to bring down the JD(S)-Congress coalition government in 2019.

A cinemascope bypoll battle

This former actor is now set to lock horns with NDA partners – the BJP-JD(S) combine – and likely to be pitted against actor-turned-politician Nikhil Kumaraswamy, son of former chief minister Kumaraswamy in the Channapatna assembly bypoll.

The Channapatna seat became vacant when Kumaraswamy decided to contest from Mandya in the Lok Sabha polls. With former film actors in the fray, and Kumaraswamy, who had been a film exhibitor and producer before entering politics, the bypoll in Channapatna has taken on a filmy colour.

After his graduation, Yogeeshwara took up acting as his career and essayed small roles with ‘crazy’ star Ravichandran. He acted in several films including ‘Uttara Druvadim Dakshina Druvaku’, ‘Badhri’, ‘Kambalahalli’ and ‘Preethi Nee Illade Na Hegirali’. Yogeeshwara became the protagonist in the 2002 action drama ‘Sainika’, which brought him both name and fame.

‘Attahasa’ – a film based on the life of forest brigand Veerappan and directed by AMR Ramesh, is his last film venture.

Both ‘Hero’ and ‘villain’

There are shades of both ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ in Yogeeshwara, the politician. Even though chargesheets are filed against him in 28 cases, he remained a forest minister. He won his Assembly seat in the April 2011 bypoll despite authorities filing a chargesheet against him in 14 cases.

“He is always the neighbour's envy and the owner's pride,” said a senior BJP leader, quoting the lines of an old famous TV advertisement.

Between 1995 and 2000, Yogeeshwara was also a realtor. He was the managing director of Megacity Developers and Builders Limited, which promised land to people in a proposed township on the outskirts of Bengaluru. But, he has been charged with cheating people in this case.

But, like any other politician, he claims cases are being foisted against him and are ‘politically motivated’.

Nevertheless, according to his own affidavit filed with the Election Commission during the 2023 Assembly polls, the cases filed against him pertain to the Megacity project and are still pending.

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Recharging of lakes

Yogeeshwara is also known for the good work he has done in Channapatna. He is in fact referred to as the 'Bhagiratha' of Channapatna for reviving lakes and the hopes of the people living there (in Hindu mythology, Bhagiratha is a legendary king who brought the sacred river Ganga from heaven to earth).

The politician is also credited with implementing the Garkalli and Kanva Lift Irrigation projects, which resulted in many tanks filling Channapatna taluk. The project facilitated the lifting of water from Iggalur Barrage, built across the Shimsha River, and has helped rejuvenate groundwater levels in the region.

Yogeeshwara is now banking on these 'Waterman' achievements to seek support from the people of Channapatna, who he hopes will send him as their representative to the Karnataka assembly.

What does Yogeeshwara say?

So does he have any remorse or regrets? “I acted according to the political situation I found myself in all these years. Political parties on some occasions asked me to vacate the ‘house’ (Channapatna constituency) which I built and I was forced to opt for another political party. I move to a party which supports the growth of my political career," he told The Federal.

Further, he added candidly, "Had BJP supported my candidature, I would have stayed with the NDA.”

Win or lose, the big question now is: How long will he remain with the Congress?