It could be anybody’s game in Ballari

BALLARI: “I am a poor man. I need to earn. I am in this rally today, if other party people come to my village and call me, I will go there tomorrow,” said a villager from Chikkajogalli near Kudligi. The statement of the 68-year-old’s, who says about a 100 people from his village were brought in mini buses to Congress’ rally on Monday evening, pretty much sums up the election fervour or the lack of it in Ballari where bypolls are scheduled to be held on November 3.

While the BJP and Congress-JD(S) combine are putting their weight behind their candidates J Shanta and V S Ugrappa respectively, it is the swing vote of a disinterested electorate that will decide the fate of both parties in a likely narrow gap. 

With the Ballari bypolls reduced to pretty much a flashpoint between Water Resources minister D K Shivakumar and BJP’s B Sriramulu, the candidates have taken a back seat letting their party leaders tower over their individual personalities. For the BJP that lost heavily in Ballari in the Assembly polls, winning the Lok Sabha seat is a way of asserting to its cadres that the seat can’t be wrestled away from it easily. The Congress is confident of a victory this time around, not simply because they have won six of the eight assembly seats in Ballari, but also because they believe the time is up for Sriramulu and Reddy brothers’ hold over the region.

The Congress is heavily dependent on minority votes, especially in Hosapete and Ballari Rural, while the BJP is confident of consolidating Lingayats who form a huge chunk of the voting population. While the SC/ST votes are bound to be divided, Congress is pinning its hopes on Siddaramaiah’s campaign to draw the Kuruba votes in its favour. Surprisingly, the BJP that is ever ready to throw in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s name in its campaign, is conspicuously using it judiciously. 

“The fight is neck and neck. It is impossible for the BJP to repeat its 2014 performance. Even if we win, it could be with barely 3% votes,” said a source from the BJP who has been assessing ground realities. Ugrappa is a breath of fresh air and despite the infighting among the local MLAs, who wish to keep the seat empty so they can claim it for their choice of candidate in 2019, senior leaders of the Congress are cracking the whip on them to get their act together. 

The Congress has pressed all tall leaders of the coalition, including H D Deve Gowda, to campaign for Ugrappa while the difference is stark in the saffron party camp. While community leaders like Union minister Ramesh Jigajinagi have been camping in the region, the onus is entirely on Sriramulu to campaign and win the seat for his sister. 

“Ugrappa has the solid backing of community seers too. Sriramulu is not the sole leader from the Valmiki community and this election will prove just that. We are confident that 7,000-10,000 vote swing is all we need to register a victory,” said a source from the Congress. It is anybody’s game in Ballari is the popular opinion of voters and leaders alike while the latter hope for their party to have the edge.