Congress candidate V S Ugrappa had recorded a resounding victory by securing 60% of votes polled in the by-election to Bellary Lok Sabha constituency in Nov 2018. Five months later, it is clear that polls will not be a walk in the park for the coalition candidate.
Ugrappa is up against Y Devendrappa, once a Congress ticket aspirant from the constituency, and a relative of Ramesh Jarkiholi, the disgruntled Congress MLA from Gokak.
In Bellary Lok Sabha constituency reserved for Scheduled Tribes, Devendrappa is banking on the ‘Modi factor’ and BJP strongman and former MP B Sriramulu, to sail towards victory.
Though it should have been a cakewalk for the Congress to retain the constituency as six of the eight MLAs of the district are from the party, recent developments in the district Congress fold appears to have put the party in a spot. After that disgraceful episode between the Congress legislators Anand Singh (Hosapete-Vijayanagara) and Ganesh (Kampli), the enthusiasm among party workers isn’t on the same plane as it was a few months ago.
The same Congress MLAs, who had put up a united front in November 2018, had appeared keen on shifting their loyalties to BJP soon after the polls.
Yet, Ugrappa is upbeat about his prospects. “I am the only MP from Bellary in the last 15 years who has raised various issues regarding Bellary in the Parliament. Bellary has been a Congress stronghold and will remain so,” he said, despite the fact that he was the first Congressman to be elected to the Parliament from Bellary since 2004.
Apart from Congress leader Siddaramaiah, not many bigwigs have campaigned widely for him.
BJP, meanwhile, has adopted the strategy of depicting the rival candidate as an outsider as Ugrappa hails from Pavagada in Tumakuru district. “We elected six Congress MLAs from the district. Yet, the coalition government cannot find one MLA to be our district in-charge minister,” is a line repeated in campaign meetings or rallies of the BJP, in reference to Water Resources and Bellary district-in-charge D K Shivakumar.
Devendrappa is confident of victory because of prime minister Narendra Modi. “People really want to see Modi re-elected because of his contributions. That is why we are seeking votes in his name,” Devendrappa said.
Though the absence of the influential Reddy brothers - due to Supreme
Court directions - might have an impact, the vaccum appears to be filled by Sriramulu’s campaign in the district. More than Devendrappa, it
is Sriramulu’s popularity
that might tip the balance against the coalition candidate.
Shivakumar’s absence
Though Water Resources Shivakumar is the district-in-charge minister, his absence during the last few days of campaigning is raising eyebrows. “Santosh Lad has been appointed the district convenor to handle campaign activities.
Shivkumar had campaigned on April 8 and 9, and is expected to hit the streets for Ugrappa on April 21,” a Congress source said.
Despite the political turmoil within the Congress, both the coalition and the BJP are fighting neck-and-neck and any possibility is on the cards at Bellary.