Karnataka - Bidar   

AHINDA eats into votes of JD(S)

Rishikesh Bahadur Desai

Unceremonious exit of Siddharamaiah costs the party dear Exit of Siddharamaiah costs party dear in Bidar

Bidar: The AHINDA factor seems to have damaged the position of Janata Dal (Secular) in Bidar. While the unceremonious exit of former Deputy Chief Minister Siddharamaiah has affected that party, it seems to have benefited the Congress and the BJP in the district.

Janata Dal (Secular) leaders agree that the emergence of the All India Progressive Janata Dal has affected their party. Party district president Baburao Gudage agrees that his nominees lost in seven seats due to the AIPJD. "We got less seats than we expected," says Mr. Gudage. He is confident the Janata Dal (Secular) will get the president's post in the zilla panchayat.

The Kurubas, Kabbaligas, Kolis and other backward classes and the Extremely Backward Classes form 22 per cent of the population in Bidar. "They have been voting for the Janata Dal (Secular) all along, mostly due to the presence of Mr. Siddharamaiah in the party. But now they feel that Mr. Siddharamaiah's contribution was not recognised by senior leaders. They have vent their ire on us," say party sources.

Campaign pays off

AHINDA district president and victorious AIPJD candidate Amrit Chimkod says that the party's only aim was to defeat the Janata Dal (Secular). "We campaigned in favour of the Congress in places where we did not field our nominees. It has paid off. Now it is for the former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to realise you cannot be active in State politics without Mr. Siddharamaiah," Mr. Chimkod said.

"We fought only 12 of the 31 zilla panchayat seats and 30 of the 117 taluk panchayat seats. Our leaders and workers campaigned across the district. Some of them even joined the Congress campaign, says Mr. Chimkod.

BJP also benefits

The spat between Janata Dal (Secular) and AIPJD leaders also seems to have benefited the BJP, wherever the voters did not favour the Congress.

The BJP won five of the six seats in Aurad, the Congress won the other. The AIPJD fielded only one candidate in the six zilla panchayat seats and none in the 23 taluk panchayat seats.

Since Siddharamaiah's followers in that taluk were upset with the Janata Dal (Secular), they voted for the BJP. The general discontent with the Minister and local MLA Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli also seems to have reflected on the voting pattern.

No party has been able to cross the half-way mark in the Bidar Zilla Panchayat. The Congress that won 23 of the 26 seats in the last elections has failed to repeat its performance this time. Its nominees were elected from 12 of the 31 seats only. The Janata Dal (Secular) that failed to make a mark in the last ZP, has eight of its representatives in this time. The BJP has made considerable progress too, its strength has increased from three to eight.

BSP candidate wins

The lone BSP nominee to win a zilla panchayat seat in this elections in the entire State is from Bidar. Last time too, the BSP had one member in the house. The new entrant is the All India Progressive Janata Dal with the election of one nominee. The Samajwadi Party that fielded more candidates than the BJP failed to open its account.

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AHINDA eats into votes of JD(S)

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