Siblings war, loyalty-shift make it a 'Kurukshetra'

Dramatic shifting of party loyalty and a siblings war in an Assembly segment make Shimoga seat truly a modern-day "Kurukshetra".

Dramatic shifting of party loyalty and a siblings war in an Assembly segment triggered by maverick leader S Bangarappa make Shimoga Parliamentary constituency truly a modern-day "Kurukshetra".

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Perhaps no other constituency in the state has witnessed a total churning compared with the 1999 polls, in which Bangarappa avenged his defeat by Ayanur Manjunath a year earlier with a victory margin of over 95,000 votes.

Bangarappa was in the Congress then and Manjunath in the BJP. Roles are reversed now and Shimoga is witnessing a bitter contest, particularly in Soraba Assembly segment coming under Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency where Bangarappa's two sons -- Kumar and Madhu -- are pitted against each other.