The Hindu : Gulbarga to witness six high-profile electoral battles

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Mar 08, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Gulbarga to witness six high-profile electoral battles

By T.V. Sivanandan

GULBARGA, MARCH 7. Gulbarga district is all set to witness an intense contest in all the 13 Assembly constituencies and the political future of many key personalities will be decided.

All the six Ministers from the district are certain to be renominated in their respective constituencies. While Jewargi, Chitapur, Shahabad (reserved), Yadgir, and Gulbarga city assembly constituencies will witness tough battles, the Home Minister, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, faces a brittle Opposition in the Gurmitkal (reserved) constituency and should win with ease.

The Public Works Minister, N. Dharam Singh, who will be making an attempt to enter the Legislative Assembly for a record eighth time in succession from Jewargi, will have a face-off with his traditional rival, Shivalingappa Naribol of the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose renomination as the party candidate has been finalised.

In the elections in 1994 and 1999, Mr. Singh managed to scrape through with a margin of less than 4,000 votes and 3,000 votes, respectively. Although Mr. Singh can feel comfortable with the fact that Jewargi taluk, which was ranked among the most backward taluks by the High-power Committee for Redressal of Regional Imbalances, has witnessed overall improvement in many areas, particularly irrigation, roads, and drinking water, the BJP will try to end his hold over the constituency.

Although the situation appears to be favourable for the Medical Education Minister, A.B. Maalakaraddy, in Yadgir, a seat which he has won in three elections, the Janata Dal (Secular) is gaining in strength in the constituency and will pose a serious threat to him this time.

The Congress is on shaky ground in Shahabad (reserved) constituency, which returned the Minister of State for Libraries, Baburao Chavan, in the 1999 elections. The BJP, which is a force to reckon with in Shahabad, is making a determined bid to open its account in the constituency, where it lost by a margin of more than 7,000 votes in the last election.

In Gulbarga city Assembly constituency, an interesting battle is on the cards for the Minister for Labour, Qamar-ul-Islam. Mr. Islam, who will be contesting the poll to enter the Assembly for the fifth time (fourth time in succession), will face a challenge from the BJP, which has found new confidence, and a regrouped Janata Dal (S).

In Chitapur, the Minister of State for Small Savings, Baburao Chinchansur, will be in the fray to enter the Assembly for the fourth time in succession. Although the Congress appears to be invincible on paper, the lack of development in the constituency and non-completion of the Bennethora major irrigation project, which has been pending for more than three decades, will affect its prospects. There is also a demand from a section of the party to deny the party ticket to Mr. Chinchansur and field a new face. The youth leader, M.N. Patil, a criminal lawyer, has expressed interest in contesting as the Congress candidate.

Interesting contests are likely in Aland and Afsalpur Assembly constituencies. In Aland, B.R. Patil, newly appointed Working President of the Janata Dal (S), will be testing his popularity for the third time in succession to defeat Subash Guttedar, who was a member of the dissolved Assembly.

In Afsalpur, the former Minister, Malikayya Guttedar, will be trying to get elected to the Assembly for the fifth consecutive time. In the 1999 elections, both the Guttedars contested the elections as nominees of the Janata Dal (S) and were successful. They are likely to seek re-election as Congress candidates. M.Y. Patil, who contested as a Congress candidate in 1999 elections and lost, will, in all probability, be the Janata Dal (S) candidate against Mr. Malikayya Guttedar.

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