BENGALURU: BJP and Congress are scrambling to shortlist candidates for bypolls to the Belagavi Lok Sabha constituency and Basavakalyan and Maski assembly segments. The elections are likely to be held in late February or early March, and it will be another high-voltage clash after the recent Sira and RR Nagar contests.
The main parties will be eager to test their message and reach as they start early preparations for the 2023 assembly elections.
There is considerable interest in the Belagavi race as the district has often been the epicentre of Karnataka politics. Both BJP and Congress camps here are led by strong local politicians. BJP is thought to have the edge as it currently holds six of the eight assembly segments in the constituency.
Former MPs Ramesh Katti and Prabhakar Kore are reportedly among the ticket aspirants in BJP. Ramesh, the brother of senior BJP MLA Umesh Katti, was denied a ticket from the Chikkodi Lok Sabha constituency in 2019, whereas Kore was not considered for a second term in the Rajya Sabha. BJP is considering fielding industries minister Jagadish Shettar, though he is not keen, according to party functionaries. Another option before the party is to select a family member of former Union minister Suresh Angadi, who died of Covid-19 in September last year. Angadi’s demise necessitated the Belagavi bypoll.
Congress is reportedly reviewing the names of KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi and Belagavi Rural MLA Laxmi Hebbalkar. The two, Congress insiders claim, have shown reluctance and the party may field Laxmi’s brother, Chennaraj Hattiholi. Senior Congress members discussed the names on Saturday. “Some more rounds of deliberation are needed. We will send a shortlist to the party high command,” said KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed.
The Basavaklayan assembly bypoll has gained importance after reports that BJP is studying the option of fielding chief minister BS Yediyurappa’s son, BY Vijayendra, in the race. A section of BJP members appeared to endorse the theory after Yediyurappa laid the foundation stone for the Rs 500-crore Anubhava Mantapa project in Basavakalyan last week. Recently, the government formed the Lingayat and Maratha development boards. The two communities are among the largest voting groups in Belagavi and Basavakalyan.
“A section of the cadre wants me as candidate in Basavakalyan. But I prefer to work in the background for the victory of our party rather than being the candidate,” said Vijayendra, who may take charge of the Basavakalyan election campaign.
In Basavakalyan, Mallamma, the wife of Narayan Rao, and MLC Vijay Singh, who is the elder son of former chief minister Dharam Singh, are the frontrunners for the Congress ticket, say party functionaries. There is a curious situation in Maski: Pratap Gowda Patil, who had won on a Congress ticket in 2018, is set to become the BJP candidate and his former BJP rival, Basanagouda Turvihal, is eyeing the Congress ticket.