Karnataka - Bidar   

Parties vying for Maratha votes in Aurad

By Our Staff Correspondent

BIDAR, APRIL 10. The Congress, Janata Dal (Secular), and the Bharatiya Janata Party in Aurad are trying to win over the Maratha and Marathi- speaking voters who form nearly 30 per cent of the electorate.

While the former Minister and Congress candidate, Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, succeeded in inducting a section of Maratha Ekikaran Samiti (MES) workers led by Arun Patil, son of the former MLA, Bapurao Ekambekar, into his party, the Janata Dal (S) candidate, Gundappa Vakil, arranged meetings of other MES leaders with the former Minister, P.G.R. Sindhia, perceived as the leader of the community. Leaders of the BJP are touring the constituency and pointing out to the voters that their party was a long-time ally of the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

Although there are varied opinions as to which of the parties will be successful, there is little argument about the importance of the Maratha voter in Aurad.

There were reports of some Congress leaders holding preliminary talks with National Congress Party leaders about leaving Aurad and a few Assembly seats from Belgaum district to that party. This was to see that the NCP benefited from the large Maratha presence in this region, and that Marathas in other parts of the State favoured the Congress. This was, however, not possible because of Mr. Gurupadappa's strong claim to the Congress ticket from Aurad, according to party sources.

Ramrao Rathod, MES's Bidar district unit President, who addressed a meeting organised by the Janata Dal (S) on Friday, said his party would not be affected by the resignation of "one or two'' leaders. He also said that the party would support the Janata Dal (S) on the condition that the MES flag was used along with that of the Janata Dal (S) flag during the campaign. He told Mr. Vakil that if he was elected, he should set aside 40 per cent of the funds for welfare programmes for Marathas

The MES General Secretary, Navnath Rao Vasare, said that the party would support Mr. Vakil as he had protected the interest of the community in the past five years. His message would be spread in the 50 villages across the border where the community was concentrated, he added.

Mr. Sindhia and the former Minister, Leeladevi R. Prasad, addressed the meeting which was attended by party Joint Secretary, Shivajirao Patil, Ganapati Solankar, Narayanrao Patil, and others.

The BJP candidate, Basavraj Patil Kollur, is organising meetings of the community leaders in he constituency. However, there are no clear signals as to which way the voters in the community will turn.

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