Karnataka - Gulbarga   

Neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride

GULBARGA: The Gurmitkal Assembly constituency, which borders the naxalite-affected Mahbubnagar district in Andhra Pradesh, will this time miss its long-serving representative M. Mallikarjun Kharge.

After the delimitation exercise, Gurmitkal, which was reserved for Scheduled Castes, has become a general constituency. Mr. Kharge won from there in eight successive elections, a State record matched only by his friend and fellow Congressman N. Dharam Singh from the Jewargi Assembly constituency.

Although local leaders appealed to Mr. Kharge not to shift from Gurmitkal, the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president has decided to contest from either Chitapur or Chincholi, which have now become reserved constituencies.

Mr. Kharge has nurtured Gurmitkal over the years to make it a model constituency, so much so that it has become a case of “neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride”.

Every village in the constituency has approach roads and at least three sources of drinking water. Emphasis has been laid on irrigation through minor irrigation schemes and tapping groundwater sources. This was made possible by the efforts of Mr. Kharge in ensuring that all the funds provided by the Government for the welfare of the people and various development schemes were put to proper use.

While most Assembly constituencies still lack enough primary and high schools, access to schools in Gurmitkal constituency is better than the State average. Every village has a primary school, and a high school is situated within a 2-km radius.

Mr. Kharge’s departure from Gurmitkal will have an effect on the prospects of the Congress in the Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency, since Gurmitkal played a crucial role in getting the maximum number of votes for the Congress in every Lok Sabha election since 1972.

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