KOPPAL : Once a part of the rich Vijayanagara Kingdom, Koppal parliamentary constituency is now labelled as the most arid and backward district in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. The constituency includes eight assembly segments spread across Koppal, Raichur and Ballari. Though the people are getting ready to vote in yet another election (April 23), their concerns have found no mention in parties’ manifestos. And though demonetisation and Goods and Service Tax (GST) had affected the youth, farmers and business, they are not the swing factors, but caste still is the determining one.
While the Lingayats are the dominant community, the OBCs too can swing polls. In short, it is a fight between the forward and backward communities. Koppal has been a Congress stronghold for years but the party lost its grip since the 2009 general elections. The BJP won both in 2009 and 2014.
This election is also seen as a battle between the Karadi and Hitnal families. It was the Modi wave which swept away everything in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and Karadi Sanganna of BJP, a Lingayat, won with a slight margin of 32,414 votes against his Congress rival Basavaraj Hitnal, a Kuruba.
The two arch rivals locked horns in five assembly elections and in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. This poll is also a fight between sitting MP Sanganna Karadi and a Hitnal -- though this time it is Basavaraj’s son Rajashekar Hitnal who is the Congress candidate.
Speaking to TNIE, Sanganna said, “There is no rift in the party. Our goal is to defeat Congress.”
Listing his achievements, Sanganna said, “In the last five years, I have taken up many infrastructure works. The Koppal-Gangavathi railway line was completed. Work on the rail line between Wadi of Raichur and Koppal has started.”
MLA Raghavendra Hitnal, brother of Rajashekar Hitnal, said, “We are confident of winning the polls as Sanganna almost lost the previous polls. It is only because of Modi that he was saved. But this time the Modi wave has waned.”It is not just about politics, it is economics too. N Suri Babu, president, Gangavathi Rice Mille Owners Association, said, “Before demonetisation and GST, the trade was done in hard cash. Demonetisation hit our businesses hard and we have still not recovered.”
Polls have made no difference and the constituency remains backward. Agriculture is dependent on the Tungabhadra Reservoir. But the silt in the dam is a worrying the farmers. The farmers of Koppal, Ballari and Raichur are demanding that the Central and state governments desilt the dam -- 33.2tmcft out of 133 tmcft water is filled with silt.
Manjappa, Chief Engineer of Tungabhadra Reservoir, said, “The previous government invited tenders for desilting but no company took part. Then they reported that it is not feasible for desilting, so we have dropped the work. We are working to develop alternatives for proper water management so that farmers proper water share.”Political parties are more concerned about votes than water, say angry people.