Jarkiholi fails to charm Athani, Savadi wins

After the high drama in the run-up to the elections, Former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi has emerged victorious in the election to state assembly from the Athani constituency in Belagavi district on a Congress ticket.

Athani constituency received special attention, as it was a fight between two turncoats Mahesh Kumthalli and Laxman Savadi.

The people of Athani seem to prefer Savadi, instead of heeding the promises of sitting MLA Mahesh Kumthahalli.

Residents of Athani think that Kumthahalli may be excessively influenced by Ramesh Jarkiholli, Gokak MLA and former minister, an outsider.

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Savadi’s gambit of defecting to the Congress after being denied a ticket by the BJP, on the eve of elections, seems to have paid off. His margin of victory, against the BJP candidate and sitting Kumathalli, is significant.

Kumthalli had won as a Congress candidate in 2018 against Savadi (BJP), only retiring to join the BJP soon after. In 2019, Kumthalli even won the by-election.

To placate Savadi, the BJP high command had named him the deputy chief minister in the B S Yediyurappa government. The party hoped that the elevation would help it garner Lingayat votes in Maharashtra’s constituencies when the state was approaching Assembly elections. However, he lost his post after Basavaraj Bommai replaced Yediyurappa as chief minister.

To cement a top post in the government, Savadi wished to win as an MLA, in the event of the BJP coming to power again.

Jarkiholi was instrumental in bringing Kumthalli to the BJP camp in the process of toppling the JD(S)-Congress coalition and was adamant that Kumthalli get a BJP ticket.

Not willing to antagonise Jarkiholi, the BJP high command named Kumthalli as its nominee from the Athani constituency.

A disgruntled Savadi was quick to jump ship to the Congress. The grand old party was starved of a suitable candidate to counter BJP. So, it welcomed Savadi with open arms, giving him a ticket.

The tussle between Savadi and Jarkiholi soon became a war.

“Savadi stays in Athani and is accessible to the people of the region. Kumthalli, if elected, would have been a stooge of Jarkiholi. The people of Athani did not want Jarkiholi to interfere in their constituency’s affairs. That is why Savadi got the localites support beyond their expectations of political pundits,” said Ashok Chandargi, a political observer.

Panchamasali Lingayat, the community Kumthalli belongs to, are a majority in the constituency. However, Savadi being a Ganiga Lingayat did not come in the way of all sects of Lingayats rallying behind him and ensuring his victory.