Doing well in its stronghold Kittur Karnataka key for BJP’s prospects

Ashok_Chandaragi

Parties have much at stake in the Lingayat-dominated Kittur Karnataka region, which sends 56 representatives to the Assembly.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai hails from this region and the BJP winning a sizeable chunk of the seats here is a matter of prestige for him.

A defection from one party is opportunity for another, it appears, as sitting MLAs who are denied tickets by their parties may look to switch sides. Parties would thus be treading cautiously while deciding on their candidates.

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In any case, Kittur Karnataka will predominantly see a BJP-Congress fight as JD(S) lacks a strong vote base here.

BJP banks on Lingayats

With solid support from the Lingayats, the BJP won 54 seats from 13 districts of North Karnataka in the 2018 election. Of them, 40 were from seven districts of Kittur Karnataka.

“All districts, except Uttara Kannada, have Lingayat voters in significantly large numbers. Historically, they have been voting on the name of a stalwart Lingayat leader, be it Veerendra Patil (Congress) or B S Yediyurappa (BJP),” Belagavi-based political analyst Ashok Chandargi says.

The BJP has faced setbacks with the untimely deaths of Hukkeri MLA Umesh Katti and Saundatti MLA Anand Mamani. The Congress may try to use their absence to its advantage.

A high-voltage contest is expected in Belgaum Rural, Saundatti, Hukkeri and Gokak (Belagavi district), Badami, Jamkhandi (Bagalkot), Bijapur City (Vijayapura), Ron, Gadag city (Gadag), Kalghatgi, Hubballi-Dharwad East and Kundgol (Dharwad).

In Haveri, the Congress is expected to make all efforts to wrest Shiggoan from Bommai.

Also, at Hirekerur, Agriculture Minister B C Patil - he defected to BJP from Congress in 2019 - can expect a fight from Congress’ U B Banakar, the BJP candidate whom he defeated in 2018. Banakar switched to Congress a few months ago.

BJP’s Ramesh Jarkiholi, the Valmiki leader who spearheaded ‘Operation Lotus’ to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2019, is trying hard to ensure Congress MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar’s defeat in Belgaum Rural.

Gokak, represented by Ramesh, also is in for a serious contest as the Congress will try to wrest the seat by fielding Ashok Pujar, a Valmiki, against him.

In Bijapur City, BJP’s Basanagouda Patil Yatnal is confident of winning, but there are several in the party trying hard for the ticket.

However, political observers feel the BJP will not risk replacing Yatnal, a Hindutva icon in the region.

“The recent victory of the BJP in the Vijayapura city corporation is evidence for my organisation capabilities in the district. That is my the party high command has given me the responsibility of strengthening the party in other constituencies of the region,” Yatnal says.

In Gadag, Congress veteran H K Patil had won in 2018 with a thin margin of 1,600 votes against political greenhorn Anil Menasinkai. This time, BJP is pulling all stops to defeat Patil in his stronghold. Lingayats and OBCs will be the deciding factors in the segment.

With the exit of leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah from Badami - he wants to contest from Kolar this time - the Congress is flooded with applications from ticket aspirants.

To win the seat, BJP needs to consolidate the votes of Lingayats, who remained neutral in 2018. Fielding a Lingayat and keeping Kurubas in good stead will help BJP, say political pundits.

In 2018, BJP lost the Jamkhandi segment. Sangamesh, younger brother of Industries Minister Murugesh Nirani, played spoilsport by contesting as an independent there and eating into BJP votes.

The Kalghatgi segment will be a hotspot this time. There’s a tough fight for the Congress ticket between former MLA Santosh Lad and former MLC Nagaraj Chebbi. Lad is confident of getting the ticket. “It’s a media hype. I’ve been working for the welfare of the people here for the last 20 years. The high command is happy with my work,” he says.

Meanwhile, the BJP is contemplating replacing its Kalghatgi MLA C M Nimbannavar, who is past 75 years. It will be no surprise if Lad becomes the BJP candidate, in case Congress denies him the ticket.