KARWAR: He came. He spoke. But did he succeed? This is the question asked about Sarekoppa Bangarappa, former chief minister and president of the Samajwadi Party in the state, who campaigned in Karwar constituency for Congress candidate Satish Sail, on Monday. Will his presence make any difference to the fortunes of Sail? It is true that Bangarappa had a few pockets of influence in Uttara Kannada district, including Bhatkal, Kumta, Sirsi and Siddapur, where Idigas form a sizeable population.
Though called the champion of the backward classes, he was more known as an Idiga leader in the district.
His popularity began to wane here after he lost the post of chief minister and went on shifting his political loyalties. It was evident from the fact that Samajwadi candidate Bheemanna Naik, who contested from Sirsi in the last Assembly elections, lost his deposit.
As far as Karwar constituency is concerned, Bangarappa’s influence over the electorate is limited. It cannot be denied that Bangarappa provided a political break to late Vasant Asnotikar by nominating him as the Karnataka Congress Party (KCP) candidate in the 1994 Assembly elections. But Asnotikar’s victory was more due to his personal clout than the influence of Bangarappa or the KCP for that matter.It was another matter that Asnotikar soon left the KCP to became associate member of the Congress before joining as a full-fledged member. Under the circumstances, the Congress may not benefit much by Bangarappa’s presence in the election campaign, observers opine. However his participation is perceived as a prelude for him to rejoin the Congress.
When KPCC president R.V. Deshpande openly invited him to join the Congress at Ankola on Monday, Bangarappa did not seem averse to the idea. He smiled and said that the issue would be discussed in the party forum.