This story is from March 23, 2019

Lok Sabha elections: Its Congress vs ex-Congress in Kalaburagi, Ballari & Hassan

Lok Sabha elections: Its Congress vs ex-Congress in Kalaburagi, Ballari & Hassan
Picture for representational purpose only.
BENGALURU: The BJP’s decision to field three prominent Congress rebels has made for a curious tussle in Kalaburagi, Ballari and Hassan Lok Sabha constituencies, virtually turning it into a Congress vs Congress battle.
In Kalaburagi, Mallikarjuna M Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha, will face former associate and rebel Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav, while turncoat Congress leaders A Manju and Y Devendrappa will take on Prajwal Revanna of the JD(S) in Hassan and VS Ugrappa of the Congress in Ballari respectively.

Kalaburagi: Kharge vs Jadhav
Kharge emerged victorious in all previous 11 elections he contested, including two Lok Sabha polls. Apart from his popularity, the fact that he won the 2014 Lok Sabha polls by a margin of 74,331 votes despite a groundswell of support for BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, holds him in good stead. However, Jadhav is relying heavily on changed political equations and a revival of the Modi wave. Besides Jadhav, two other prominent leaders — Malikayya Guttedar, a six-time MLA from Afzalpur and Baburao Chinchansur, a five-time MLA from Koli (Kabbaliga) community — who were instrumental in Kharge’s 2014 victory, have joined the BJP. Moreover, Kharge does not share the same rapport he had with Ajay Singh, MLA from Jewargi, and former minister and Muslim leader Qamarul Islam’s wife Kaneez Fathima, MLA from Kalaburagi North. Also, the Congress had won seven of the eight constituencies under Kalaburagi Lok Sabha constituency in the 2013 assembly elections, but only four in the 2018 polls.
Ballari: Ugrappa vs Devendrappa
Devendrappa, a former Congress leader, is the father-in-law of former Congress minister Ramesh Jarkiholi. His contest against VS Ugrappa is being seen as a proxy war between Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Ramesh Jarkhiholi. To increase his sphere of influence beyond his stronghold of south Karnataka, Shivakumar, who is nursing chief minister ambitions, has been making attempts to take control of Ballari and Belagavi districts, triggering a power struggle between influential leaders within the Congress. Shivakumar showed his might when he ensured the victory of Ugrappa in the bypoll last year. His attempts to gain charge of politics in Belagavi and Ballari are being seen as an attempt to reduce the influence of the Jarkiholis and BJP’s B Sreeramulu over the Valmikki community.

Hassan: Manju vs Prajwal
In Hassan, Manju, a confidant of former chief minister Siddaramaiah, was expecting to contest on a Congress ticket. But he decided to join the BJP and take on Prajwal, grandson of HD Deve Gowda, after the Hassan seat was ceded to JD(S) under the seat-sharing agreement. Congress and JD(S) have been rivals for years, but now, the two parties are being forced to seek votes for each other. It would not have had such a strong effect had a senior leader like Deve Gowda contested from the constituency. But none of the Congress members are willing to campaign for Prajwal, a political greenhorn. Opposition from ground-level Congress members is increasing despite the intervention of Siddaramaiah. Now it’s being seen as a Manju vs Siddaramaiah fight.
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