After Utharahalli Assembly constituency in Bangalore, Chamundeshwari is the second biggest constituency in the State, with 3. 68 lakh voters.

In 1978 elections, D. Jayadevraj Urs (Congress) was elected to the Assembly defeating M. Rajashekharamurthy (Janata Party).

The then Taluk Development Board member and a young advocate Siddharamaiah entered the Assembly through this constituency for the first time, defeating Urs in 1983 elections. Siddharamaiah had contested as the George Fernandez - led Lok Dal candidate with the symbol of Balance (weighing scale). He was the lone candidate of the party in the State to win the polls.

Being considered as an Independent MLA, Siddharamaiah supported the Janata Party - BJP coalition Government headed by Ramakrishna Hegde. He was nominated as the Chairman of Kannada Watchdog Committee. Later, having developed close friendship with Hegde, he joined the Janata Party.

Owning moral responsibility for the party's defeat in the Lok Sabha elections and also in order to breakaway from the coalition partner BJP, Hegde dissolved the Assembly in 1985 and went to polls and returned with a clear majority. Siddharamaiah, contesting the election as a Janata Party candidate, won for the second time.

This time, he became the Minister of State for Animal Husbandry in the Hegde Ministry and later as Sericulture Minister. Due to internal bickering in Janata Party, Hegde quit as Chief Minister to become the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission during the regime of V. P. Singh as the Prime Minister. S. R. Bommai succeeded Hegde as Chief Minister and elevated Siddharamaiah to Cabinet rank with Transport portfolio. The Janata Party split into Janata Dal and Samajwadi Janata Party (SJP) in 1989. H.D. Deve Gowda was the SJP supremo.

Congress returned to power under the leadership of Veerendra Patil. Here in Chamundeshwari, Janata Dal candidate Siddharamaiah lost the election due to the presence of SJP candidate Mavinahalli Sidde Gowda. Janata Party's split benefited the Congress and its candidate M. Rajashekharamurthy was elected to the Assembly. It was in 1994 that JD and SJP were merged and the Assembly elections were fought under the joint leadership of Deve Gowda and Hegde, who sought the votes with a promise that they would never quarrel in future. Siddharamaiah was elected for the third time and became the Finance Minister in the Deve Gowda Cabinet.

It was again in 1999 that the Janata Dal split into Janata Dal (S) and Janata Dal (U), which again went against Siddharamaiah. As a JD (S) candidate, he lost the elections, paving the way for the victory of A. S. Guruswamy (Congress). BJP candidate Appanna's presence in the fray led to the defeat of Siddharamaiah. The 2004 elections again sent Siddharamaiah to the Assembly. L. Revanna Siddaiah of Congress and Appanna of BJP were defeated. Now, Siddharamaiah, a Congress candidate, is again contesting the election from the constituency for the seventh time. Appanna is now with Siddharamaiah, so also Revanna Siddaiah.

It's really a Kurukshetra:
The by - election in Chamundeshwari constituency has attracted the attention of the whole country as JD (S) supremo H. D. Deve Gowda and his long time associate and former Deputy Chief Minister Siddharamaiah have taken it as a prestige issue. The manner in which the ballot battle is being fought reminds us the Kurukshetra of Mahabharatha era. A huge brigade of Congress bigwigs is working for the success of Siddharamaiah to humiliate Deve Gowda. The bigwigs of JD (S) and BJP have pitched a “do or die” battle to get their consensus candidate Shivabasappa elected.

Never in the past the constituency witnessed such a high voltage campaign. The contending parties are accusing each other that they are spending money recklessly to woo the voters. Political observers say that the outcome of the election will change the political scenario of the State leading to the fall of the coalition Government. The prestige of Congress party is also at stake and, therefore, Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi has asked her brigade to get Siddharamaiah elected “come what may”.

The high pitch poll battle has kicked up a lot of dust and generated much heat. It is really appreciable that, barring stray incidents, the campaign is almost peaceful.

Never in the past Central forces had entered the constituency where Siddharamaiah won four out of six elections he fought since 1983 emerging as the unchallenged hero of the constituency. He is facing a major challenge in his political career in his seventh election. Let us take a look at the high drama that is going on here.

What candidates say?

Politics is not new to me: Shivabasappa
Shivabasappa, a consensus candidate of JD (S) and BJP, was picked off the list of aspirants in the JD (S) camp in the last minute. He says, "Politics is not new to me. Most of the people whom I supported have won in elections. Siddharamaiah and A. S. Guruswamy also won in the previous elections because of me. The statements about my inexperience are baseless".

Speaking about the response of voters in the villages he visited while campaigning, Shivabasappa said, "I received positive response from the voters. This is because of the work I have rendered. I will win because I have won the hearts of the people. In this election, caste will not play an important role." Shivabasappa claimed that he had the support of people belonging to all castes and he was not depending on his caste alone to win in the election.

He opined that religious Mutts impart only grace and not any kind of support for the election. He stressed that electioneering should be conducted fairly.

Speaking about roping in film actors into political parties to garner votes, he said, "Glamour will not entice voters as the people have become wiser."

The former Deputy Chief Minister Siddharamaiah was an ardent follower and fan of JD (S) supremo H.D. Deve Gowda, till both crossed each other's paths.

He is one of the main players in the Chamundeshwari by - election and has pitted himself against the JD (S) candidate on Congress ticket.

Siddharamaiah has predicted that there will be important changes in the State political scenario after the election. He has claimed that some discontented members of JD (S) are in constant touch with him.

A proclaimed atheist, Siddharamaiah has started visiting Mutts ever since the election was announced. AICC President Sonia Gandhi is said to have ordered the Congress leaders in Karnataka to ensure his victory at any cost and reportedly sent three congressmen from Delhi to collect data on the electioneering and report back to her.

It is a historic event: A. S. Guruswamy
A. S. Guruswamy, the rebel candidate from JD (S), who has joined JD (U) to contest on its ticket, feels that the Chamundeshwari by - election is a historical event and is a prestigious issue to the Government and the contenders. "The outcome will affect the Government and the tricks by the opponents will not work," he says.

Asked about the reason of his leaving JD (S), he said that he could not stomach the injustice meted out to him in the party, though he had been a loyal member. He is confident of victory, as he had won in the earlier election.