Ballari: The political picture this time shows that the mining district will witness an interesting election result. The rift between Janardana Reddy and Sriramulu’s camps, disagreement in the distribution of Congress tickets, and defections are likely to change the direction of the results of some constituencies.
Former MLA Anil Lad joined JD (S) because he did not get ticket from Congress in Ballari City constituency, Congress aspirant Raju Naik is contesting from JD (S) because he did not get ticket from Congress in Kampli and K. S. Diwakar is contesting from KRP party as he did not get ticket from BJP in Sandur constituency, which are the important political developments in Gani district.
Bellary Rural is a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribe as per 2008 constituency reclassification. Here there is a fight between BJP and Congress. Minister B. Sriramulu from BJP, and the sitting MLA B. Nagendra is contesting from Congress. Here is a strong rivalry between the two. Last time he left the constituency and contested from Molakalmura and distanced himself from the people of constituency. Some of his actions caused criticism from the people of the constituency. So Sriramulu has done a lot of work to convince the voters. Last time BJP’s Sannapakkeerappa lost by a narrow margin.
In Ballari City constituency it is a triangular fight. JDS’ votes are crucial. This time the election has reached a very interesting stage. From the announcement of the election to the distribution of tickets, there was a triangular contest between the BJP, Congress and KRP parties. In the last phase, Congress ticket aspirant, former MLA Anil Lad has entered the fray as a JDS party candidate and votes he gets likely to change the party’s direction towards victory.
The sitting MLA from BJP in the constituency G. Somasekhara Reddy is contesting here while former MLA Nara Suryanarayana Reddy’s son Nara Bharata Reddy is contesting from the Congress. Janardhan Reddy’s wife Aruna Lakshmi is contesting from KRP. A lot of votes will be split between Congress and KRP but if the Congress and KRP parties are able to get traditional votesnof BJP, it will be a big hit for BJP. As the margin of victory in the constituency is likely to decrease, the votes obtained by non-party members including ASUCI, and AAP will also determine the vote share of the winning candidate. Congress will suffer if JD (S) candidate Anil Lad gets more votes. Caste-wise and party-wise votes in the constituency will decide the result.
Sandur is a constituency reserved for Scheduled Castes. Ghorpade has been a stronghold of the Congress since olden times. Congress candidate Tukaram has won since last three times. This is the fourth time he has taken the luck test. The absence of a strong opponent for Tukaram here had made it easy for the Congress to win the last three elections. The same situation is evident in this election.
Since BJP ticket aspirant K. S. Diwakar has lost ticket, it is possible that his being KRP candidate will turn out to be a curse for BJP and a boon for Congress. Shilpa Raghavendra, wife of last time’s defeated candidate Raghavendra is contesting from BJP, while K. S Diwakar contesting from KRP.
The Kampli Constituency is reserved for Scheduled Tribes. J. N. Ganesh of Congress won the constituency last time. Congress has been blessed with many philanthropic works. But BJP’s Suresh Babu, who lost last time, is trying hard to win for the hundredth time. Congress aspirant Raju Naik has entered the fray as JD (S) candidate amid the rivalry between the two parties, which has brought trouble to the Congress. The final voter persuasion exercise will decide the victory.
In Siraguppa, BJP’s incumbent MLA M. S. Somalingappa won in this constituency, which is dedicated to Scheduled Tribes. There is a triangular competition in the constituency. Dissent in BJP, anti-incumbency wave and KRP competition will be a challenge for BJP this time. The calculation that ticket distribution competition will lead to dissent in the Congress is at play.
The BJP is worried that the leaders of the cooperative sector, Chokka Basavan Gowda and Chandrayaswamy, are supporting the Congress. Incumbent MLA Somalingappa from BJP, former MLA Nagaraj from Congress and Dharappa Nayaka from KRP are the contestants. With strong competition in the field, it is difficult to decide who will emerge victorious.