Athani, a town in Belagavi district bordering Maharashtra, has drawn the attention of the entire state as the constituency is seeing two turncoats taking on each other in the elections.
Three-time MLA and former deputy chief minister Savadi, who defected from BJP to Congress, is contesting against Mahesh Kumthalli, who left the Congress and joined BJP.
In 2018, the same candidates faced off against each other, but were in different parties. Savadi was the BJP candidate, while Kumthalli was in the fray on a Congress ticket.
Kumthalli had defeated Savadi by a margin of nearly 3,000 votes. He was one among the 17 MLAs who resigned to topple the Congress-JD(S) alliance government in 2019.
Soon after, Kumthalli joined BJP and contested the bypoll in 2019. He won by a margin of over 39,000 votes against Gajanan Mangasuli of Congress.
Savadi was aspiring to contest the 2023 election from Athani and stake his claim for the CM post.
However, his hopes were dashed when the BJP decided to field Kumthalli in Athani, following the pressure tactics of Ramesh Jarkiholi, who defected from Congress to BJP in 2019.
After being denied a BJP ticket, Savadi was quick to jump ship. The Congress was looking for a Lingayat face and welcomed him with open arms.
His defection came as a shocker to the people of the constituency.
It now looks like the battle in Athani is more between Savadi and Ramesh Jarkiholi rather than between Congress and BJP.
Ramesh is sparing no effort to ensure that his candidate Kumthalli wins. For Savadi, it is a test of his popularity as a leader.
When it comes to performance, neither can claim to have contributed much to the development of the constituency.
Athani is situated next to Gokak in Belagavi district, 140 km from Belagavi. The main occupation here is agriculture, particularly growing sugarcane, jowar and grapes. The taluk is one of the largest producers of sugar in Karnataka.
Like other constituencies in the Kittur-Karnataka region, development has not been up to the mark.
People often blame politicians for not developing the taluk, as these issues take a backseat and caste considerations take precedence.
Providing better irrigation facilities and separate district status to Athani has been the major demand of citizens in the constituency.
The switching of parties by Savadi has angered the BJP cadre and also upset Congress workers.
There were many aspirants for the Congress ticket and the party’s top brass deciding to field a defector has disappointed them.
“Though Kumthalli had also defected from Congress to BJP, the people accepted him by electing him again in 2019 bypoll. This may not be the case with Savadi,” says Satish Kulkarni, a political observer.
"As Savadi was already a sitting MLC, BJP supporters feel he betrayed the party which gave him opportunities,” Kulkarni said.
Still, Savadi is banking on his personal clout, which he hopes will be supplemented by the traditional Congress votes. However, the ground seems to be slipping out of his grip as he faces opposition from BJP supporters and covert opposition from the Congress cadre.
“The election in Athani is more candidate-based, rather than party-based. Savadi is a more popular leader and is well connected with voters in the constituency. Though he shifted to Congress, people will support him no matter which party he represents,” says Prakash Malipatil, a voter.
Kumthalli said, “The people of Athani have accepted my political moves by electing me twice. I am confident of getting their support this time also. My priority will be the development of the constituency and not caste.”
When DH sought Savadi’s comment, he refused to speak.