For them, every candidate has a fighting chance

A friend wakes up Rajeev Somappa Kamble early in the morning to go out campaigning. Dr. Kamble brushes his teeth and rushes out while putting on a white half-sleeve shirt. The Bahujan Samaj Party candidate from Raybag sets out riding pillion on a two-wheeler that his friend has brought. “Our voters are the poor labourers and small farmers who leave home early. We need to talk to them before [they leave],” he said.

Dr. Kamble, who has a postgraduate degree in agriculture and a doctorate in plant pathology, is the most qualified candidate in the election fray in the district.

Influenced by the Bahujan ideology since his student days, he attended cadre camps and visited Uttar Pradesh to listen to the likes of Kanshi Ram and Mayawati.

He fought his first election from Chikkodi (Reserved) constituency in 1999, when he was 27 and had completed his Ph.D from the University of Agriculture Sciences, Dharwad. “I did not have enough money to meet the election expenses. My friends pooled in,” he said.

That time, he got around 3,000 votes — almost equal to the members he had enrolled with the BSP. Despite his educational qualification that enabled him to get a government job, he did not move in that direction. “I stayed in Chikkodi and worked full-time to build the party.”

He lives in a humble two-room house with a tiled roof that his father Somappa had built in a Dalit settlement outside the town. Mr. Somappa had joined the Revenue Department as a clerk and retired as village accountant.

In 2004, Dr. Kamble’s vote count nearly doubled. “I had no assets and therefore, nothing to declare. I had ₹10,000 in hand and ₹400 in the bank. Officers in the office of the Returning Officer told me they had never seen such an affidavit,” he said. Today, his cash in hand and bank balance have grown to a total of ₹50,000, but he still has no assets.

After the delimitation of constituencies of 2008, Chikkodi was opened to general competition while Raybag was reserved for Scheduled Castes. Mayawati was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and the party leadership picked a different but resourceful candidate from Belagavi to fight from Raybag. “In hindsight, that was a mistake,” says M. Gopinath, BSP coordinator for south India. This time, the party has chosen Dr. Kamble to fight from Raybag, which is among the three, of 18, constituencies the BSP is fielding a candidate in as part of its alliance with the Janata Dal (S).

Losing two elections has not dimmed Dr. Kamble’s spirits.” Kanshi Ram used to say that we should be in politics for the long haul. We have to fight several polls — harna, harana aur akhir mein jeetna (to get defeated, to defeat others, and to win in the end). It seems I am still in the losing phase,” he said.

In Chikkodi

Sadashivappa Walke, an influential leader from the Kuruba community, is the other leader the BSP is fielding from Chikkodi. The science graduate retired as the Deputy Director of Sericulture in Bengaluru. He has returned to Chikkodi to continue his family profession of farming. He was planning to contest on JD(S) ticket but when the alliance agreement gave up the seat to the BSP, he switched parties.

He says no one can convince him to back away from the contest. “Because of my community, I may face pressure from religious leaders or some politicians. But I will not budge. I have known Chief Minister Siddaramaiah since the 80s. He knows that I am adamant. He will not call me to take back my nomination or retire from the race,’’ he said.

The party is yet to finalise its candidate for Nippani.