BENGALURU: The battle for Bijapur is likely to go down to the wire, with coalition partners Congress and JD(S) claiming it is their turf. Even as the coalition’s election committees begin the spadework on which party gets what, restive workers and local leaders of both parties have begun political chest-thumping and demanding that the constituency be given to them.
Bijapur, among the northernmost Lok Sabha constituencies of Karnataka, was a general segment until 2009. BJP’s Ramesh Jigajinagi moved here from erstwhile Chikkodi that he represented previously, and is the present MP. JD(S) MLA from Sindagi and Horticulture Minister Malappa Managuli, 83, told TNIE, “We have raised this issue with the party leadership, and told them we will win Bijapur if we get it. We have two MLAs in Bijapur and 50,000 votes in another constituency.’’
Home Minister MB Patil, MLA from Bableshwar (Vijayapura) said, “Whoever gets the ticket has to be a Congress candidate from Vijayapura.’’Managuli insisted, “JD(S) leaders H D Deve Gowda and H D Kumaraswamy have assured us that they will take it up on February 25.’’