BADAMI/BAGALKOT: There is an old saying in parts of Badami taluk in Bagalkot district of Karnataka. “If an old woman dies in rural Maharashtra, a weaver (nekar) family too dies here.”Guledagudda, a weavers’ town in Badami, has been supplying kana (cloth) to rural parts of Maharashtra for decades. It is also customary for women to have kana from Guledagudda factories along with the famous Ilkal saris. And it is not just the Guledagudda town, there are many weavers settled in Kerur town as well.
However, this community of weavers has been crying for attention for years. Poor road connectivity results in difficulty and delay in bringing in raw materials on time. Frequent power outages add to their woes. Despite making many promises, the government has done little to uplift this talented community.
Now with two political heavyweights — Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and BJP leader B Sriramulu — contesting for the state assembly elections from Badami, the people here are pinning their hopes on the development of the region.
As far as they are concerned, political equations do not matter, development of the region does. While Siddaramaiah contesting in these parts of North Karnataka has raised hopes for Congress in the region, the BJP seems to have chosen the right opponent for Siddaramaiah. The social works taken up by Sriramulu in Gadag and Ballari are much talked about in Badami.
Isthaling Sirsi, a political analyst from Badami, said, “With the BJP announcing Sriramulu as its candidate here, it could be anybody’s game. Though the Chief Minister seems to have an upper hand at present, the coming days could be tough for him and his party, as Sriramulu too enjoys strong support of voters here. The JD(S) candidate Hanumanthappa Mavinmarad, who has worked with people on the ground level in the last two years, could also give a tough fight to both the leaders.
“But there are other factors that may work in Siddaramaiah’s favour. The voters here may prefer Siddaramaiah as he has already been announced as the chief ministerial candidate. Also, if Siddaramaiah wins in both the constituencies — Chamundeshwari and Badami — people feel that he could announce a big package for the constituency. The region has remained underdeveloped for years. Though the political equation with the candidatures has nothing to do with the development of the region, voters here hope that the high-profile candidates will bring some respite,” he added.
How it all started
After speculations were raised about Siddaramaiah winning in Chamundeshwari constituency, it is said that the CM’s team was looking for a ‘safe seat’. With Badami having the highest numbers of Kuruba voters, it became the first choice for the Chief Minister, even as the names of Koppal and Basavakalyan were said to be considered. Morever, the Chief Minister contesting from this region could help Congress garner more votes in parts of the Mumbai-Karnataka region and influence the surrounding constituencies. “If not for Siddaramaiah, we do not have any Kuruba leader to represent us at a high position. There was also pressure on Siddaramaiah to contest from North Karnataka for the same reason,” a Kuruba leader from Bagalkot said.
When Siddaramaiah’s name was doing the rounds in Badami, the BJP wing floated the name of Sriramulu. Though there were other options such as B S Yeddyurappa and businessman Vijay Sankeshwar, the locals here were sure that Sriramulu would contest. BJP leaders, however, kept everyone guessing till the last minute.