Karnataka polls: BY Vijayendra to Divya Spandana, a look at lesser-known leaders who made an impact

The campaign for the Karnataka Assembly Election was marred with mudslinging, political barbs between high profile leaders of the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular). On Thursday, the vitriol-filled campaign came to an end. During the run-up to the polls, top party leaders from both parties including Congress president Rahul Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BJP president Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath campaigned across the state in order to bolster their party’s chances in the election. With less than 24 hours to go before voting for the Assembly polls begin in Karnataka, here is a look at some of the lesser-known leaders who made an impact during this election: BY Vijayendra The BJP chief ministerial candidate, BS Yeddyurappa’s announcement that his son BY Vijayendra won't be contesting the Karnataka polls from Varuna constituency in Mysuru against Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s son Yatindra, had triggered angry protests from party workers that led to a police lathicharge. [caption id=“attachment_4465503” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of BY Vijayendra and Divya Spandana. News18 and Getty Images[/caption] Yeddyurappa had made the announcement at a meeting organised by the party at Nanjanagudu near Mysuru, just a day before the deadline for filing of nominations ended on 23 April. Soon after the unexpected announcement, angry BJP workers flung chairs and other furniture and raised slogans against party president Amit Shah and even tried to stop the cars of Vijayendra and other leaders as they were leaving. The saffron party instead announced Vijayendra as the state general secretary of the Yuva Morcha to appease both father, son and their supporters. Vijayendra had been campaigning heavily in Varuna and had rented a house there too, ahead of the decision. However, according to  India Today, Yeddyurappa had “banished” Vijayendra from his home in November 2010 when the former was the Karnataka chief minister. As per the report, the move sought to salvage Yeddyurappa’s image in the eyes of the BJP central leadership, which was upset with him over charges of nepotism. Divya Spandana The head of the Congress social media cell, Divya Spandana aka Ramya is the person behind Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s sharp and acerbic attacks on top BJP leaders, including Modi, Shah, Yeddyurappa, and others. The Kannada actor-turned-politician is an active Twitter user who contested and lost the 2014 polls from Mandya. She was appointed as the party’s social media head in 2017. Her efforts marked the arrival of the Congress on social media, with an emphasis towards state-level leaders interacting with voters through the virtual world, reported  The Hindu. Several fact check videos that the Congress regularly puts out on its official Twitter handle, are Spandana’s initiative. “The one-line brief Rahul gave me when I was picked to lead the social media cell was to stick to the truth and nothing but the truth," The Hindu quoted her as saying. Hanumanthappa Mavinamarad When it comes to Badami, most people are focused on the tough battle it will be between Siddaramaiah and BJP’s deputy chief ministerial candidate B Sreeramulu, the JD(S) candidate Hanumanthappa Mavinamarad is keen to make it a triangular fight. The 38-year-old is the son of a Lingayat farmer who left the Congress a year ago and joined JD(S). While both Siddaramaiah and Sreeramulu have been running high decibel campaigns, Mavinamarad has been low-key yet consistent, according to  The Economic Times. He is a well-known face in the town and can be approached by anybody at any time of the day. He reportedly began his campaign a year ago and personally went knocking on 45,000 of the 60,000 doors in Badami. Yathindra Siddaramaiah Set to make his political debut on 12 May, pathologist Yathindra S, Siddaramaiah’s son will be contesting the Karnataka polls from Varuna constituency. A newbie on the state political scene, Yathindra has been visiting different parts of his constituency for the last 18 months. He was compelled to step in after his older brother Rakesh Siddaramaiah, considered the chief minister’s political heir, died in July 2016. In the same year, he was embroiled in a corruption scandal where it was alleged that Yathindra was favoured in a tender given to set up labs at the state-run Victoria Hospital in Bengaluru, where he was a director, reported Livem_ int._  While he has maintained that the Congress “will win comfortably”, the fact that Yeddyurappa’s son Vijayendra was pulled out of the polls at the last minute might work in Yathindra's favour . Yathindra has been regularly campaigning for his father in the Chamundeswari constituency as well. With inputs from agencies