In a constituency spread over two districts – Haveri and Gadag – both facing similar issues including that of frequent spells of drought and flood, candidates of two national parties have yet again locked horns indicating a keen contest.
In Haveri, the constituency that has witnessed the vagaries of both drought and floods and that gave birth to the cooperative movement in the country, the issues remain more or less the same. Dwindling farm revenue, delayed irrigation projects, lack of infrastructure still plague the constituency. One more thing common to both the districts of the constituency is that people have successfully fought against government attempts to acquire large tracts of fertile land from farmers for industries.
Political history
Haveri finds prominent place in the State’s political history because of the developments in the region and also owing to the fact that Karnataka Janata Paksha (KJP), which has almost become a non-entity now, was launched by State BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa from here.
Earlier known as Dharwad South Lok Sabha Constituency, the constituency got the name ‘Haveri’ after the delimitation exercise in 2008, which drastically changed the demographical composition. The constituency lost Shiggaon and Kundagol Assembly segments and gained Gadag, Ron and Shirahatti segments, which also subsequently changed the political plans of the parties.
Non-Muslim candidates
The constituency has seen non-Muslim candidates getting elected only on six occasions in the last 16 elections. And F.S. Mohsin from Congress who won five times in a row went on to become a Union Minister of State. The Congress which had been fielding Muslim candidates in the constituency, however has chosen to field a non-Muslim candidate this time in form of D.R. Patil, former MLA and cousin of KPCC campaign committee president H.K. Patil.
AICC office-bearer Saleem Ahmed, who contested unsuccessfully twice, did not get Congress ticket a third time. Undoubtedly, the party’s decision will have disappointed Muslims but the responsibility of convincing them has been now left to Minister in the coalition government Zameer Ahmed.
Considered a Congress bastion once, the constituency is now with BJP and has been so 2004. The incumbent MP Shivakumar Udasi is seeking a third term this time. Non-Congress parties have won from the constituency only on four occasions. While Lok Shakti wrested the seat from Congress in 1998, BJP won it in 2004 and then retained in 2009 and 2014.
Strong campaigning
As the poll date is nearing, Shivakumar Udasi and D.R. Patil are leaving no stone unturned and are seen going the extra mile to woo the electorate.
Mr. Shivakumar, son of former Minister and present Hangal MLA C.M. Udasi, is playing the ‘Modi card’, apart from showcasing his efforts of achievement as MP and highest participation in parliamentary deliberations.
On the other hand, Mr. D.R. Patil is seeking votes on the basis of the previous Congress government led by Mr. Siddaramaiah and the present Congress-JD(S) coalition government.
Numerically, BJP is in a stronger position as there are BJP MLAs in five Assembly segments while Congress has two MLAs. The lone KPJP MLA R. Shankar from Ranebennur has since withdrawn support to the coalition government.
The Congress, which has given party tickets to four candidates from the Panchamasali sect among Lingayats in the parliamentary elections, is hoping to turn the disappointment of the community with BJP in its favour. Apart from banking on its traditional voters, including Muslims and backward classes, it has also recently wooed a former BJP MLA from the community to its side in Gadag.
In the villages
At the village level, barring the WhatsApp-savvy youth enamoured by the Modi wave, many seem disinterested. At Yalavigi village, a group of middle-aged and senior voters summed up the election process as an exercise for the leaders and their few followers. They admit that they have different political leanings, but don’t take the elections seriously like some youths do.
“All leaders arrive during the elections, promise us something and then leave,” say the villagers who have been waiting for 15 years for a permanent solution to their drinking water problems. However, they are not cynical about the elections. “We will vote and will try to get the work done by whoever gets elected,” they say.