Congress and BJP brace for MLC polls in undivided Dharwad, two seats up for grabs

HUBBALLI: With the Election Commission announcing the date for the election of members to the Legislative Council to represent local bodies, political parties are bracing to fight the poll in the undivided Dharwad district. 

The local body members, both urban and rural, elect two members to the upper house from Haveri, Gadag and Dharwad districts. As the tenure of sitting members, Srinivas Mane (Congress) and Pradeep Shettar (BJP), is ending in January next year, the election for these seats will be held on December 10 and counting will be held four days later.

Over the past few decades, of the two seats in the undivided Dharwad district, one is usually held by the Congress and the other by either the Janata Pariwar or the BJP, though occasionally the Congress won both. Until he was elected from the Shiggaon assembly segment in 2008, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was an MLC twice from here. 

With Mane getting elected to the lower house in the Hangal by-election, the Congress is in a fix over choosing the candidate. Mane had also made it clear that whether he wins or loses the by-election, he would not enter into the fray for the council poll. So, there are a lot of aspirants in the party, from young blood to veterans.

A Congress leader said, "Mane's exit has opened up chances for other leaders in the party. Intense competition is there but the party is likely to choose a winnable candidate. Of course, the party will win one seat easily, but the leadership has not yet decided on contesting the other seat. Depending on the support base of the party, it will be decided."

In the previous election (2015), both the BJP and Congress contested one seat each, so their candidate had won easily. But in 2013, the Congress fielded candidates for both seats and won. Till date, both the national parties have not yet decided on how many seats they want to contest. Since the tenure of zilla and taluk panchayat members has expired and elections have not been held yet, voters of gram panchayat and urban local body members play an important role.

As far as the BJP is concerned, it is likely to field sitting member Pradeep Shettar, younger brother of senior leader Jagadish Shettar. Pradeep unsuccessfully contested in 2013, but got elected in the previous election. He may try his luck for the third time as the senior Shettar has already given an indication on Pradeep's candidature.

The BJP claims that it has sufficient numbers to secure a seat, but is still undecided about fielding a second candidate. "The party's decision depends on to whom the Congress fields. If the Congress gives a ticket to a Muslim candidate as demanded by community leaders, the party can think of contesting both the seats," said a source in the BJP.