In a major upset for the Congress in Karnataka, BJP candidate Dr C N Manjunath, the mild-mannered acclaimed cardiologist, snatched the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat from the sitting three-time MP DK Suresh. And, it was not a simple victory as the doctor won by a huge margin of 2.6 lakh votes.
It was a shocking and bitter defeat for his powerful rival, Suresh, the ‘rock of Kanakapura’.
Moreover, Suresh had been representing this constituency, a Vokkaliga bastion, since 2013. And, it had been the only seat the Congress had won in the 2019 LS election and Suresh and his brother, Congress strongman DK Shivakumar were sure they had the seat in the bag.
The constituency has long witnessed a tug of war between the DK brothers — Suresh and Shivakumar, the deputy chief minister — and the family of JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. However, since Suresh had served as the MP for this constituency for three terms, he was tipped to win against a political greenhorn like Dr Manjunath.
Dr Manjunath was making a debut in politics after retiring as director of the Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research, an institution that he had built up and nurtured for over 17 long years. He was generally considered as the 'underdog' in this election.
Gesture of gratitude
Yet, in a complete turnaround, the doctor romped home with a huge margin. According to political pundits, despite the dominant Vokkaligas, who stood by Deve Gowda’s family in this election and in that mood voted for his son-in-law, Dr Manjunath, there was another major factor that was at play here.
Dr Manjunath’s surprise win can also be attributed to his image of being a philanthropist and the goodwill the doctor had garnered over the years with his work at the public heart institute. He is credited with transforming the Sri Jayadeva Institute into one of the largest centres for heart care in south-east Asia.
Out of the 8 lakh cardiac procedures done in the hospital, 60,000 surgeries were performed by director Dr CN Manjunath himself during his tenure, said media reports.
During his tenure, Dr Manjunath had also actively pushed his motto 'treatment first, payment next' and no patient was deprived of treatment due to financial constraints. An approach that was even appreciated by former US president Barack Obama.
With Dr Manjunath’s contributions, Karnataka’s access to affordable cardiac care improved over time as multiple hospitals were opened in Mysuru, Bengaluru and Kalaburagi. The 371-bed Kalaburagi project was started in 2021 and meant to cater to six districts in Kalyan Karnataka, which was deprived of cardiac care for around 70 years.
Voters in the constituency told reporters that Congress voters too moved over to him largely drawn to his 'philanthropic image' and his invaluable contribution in saving many lives of poor people who were treated at Jayadeva hospital.
Hrudayavanta - the man with a kind heart
After his stupendous victory, Dr Manjunath, often fondly referred to as the ‘hrudayavanta’ (man with a kind heart), also attributed his win to the 'social work' he had done over the years. He pointed out in interviews to the media that having treated 'lakhs of patients' somewhere people recognised his social work over the years. And this had played an equally important role in helping him win.
A lot of people felt by voting for him, they were reciprocating for his 'services' to the poor in the constituency. According to the doctor every village had at least five to six beneficiaries who have benefited from the state-owned Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research.
Due to his track record of bringing transformation in the area of affordable healthcare, Dr Manjunath admitted that wherever he went in the constituency, he found 'gratitude' and this probably led to ‘third party campaigning’. Those who got treated at Jayadeva during his tenure turned into his ‘ambassadors’ and he became the people’s candidate, he told The Hindu.
Treating lakhs of patients helped him in his victory for sure, said political observers. The doctor’s soft-spoken nature and refusal to get into a screaming match with his rival Suresh also seemed to have won over the hearts of voters, even in Congress strongholds like Kanakapura segment, according to reports.
Besides expanding the Sri Jayadeva institute into a 2,000 bed hospital from a 300-bed one in 17 years, this Padma Shri awardee has also organised and participated in many camps across Karnataka where under-privileged and tribal patients were treated.
He has mobilised donations worth ₹50 crores from various charitable organisations and built up a poor patient corpus fund. The interest generated from these funds are utilised for needy and poor. Medicines too are given free of cost for deserving patients.
For all this good work, the voters paid him back in the 2024 Lok Sabha election earning him the sobriquet 'giant slayer' for defeating DK Suresh.