KALABURAGI: Campaign for the bypolls to Chincholi (SC) Assembly constituency is likely to gain momentum from Monday when the senior leaders of both the BJP and the Congress start their poll campaign in Chincholi.
It has remained a low-key affair so far. Even on the last day of filing nomination papers on April 29, none of the senior leaders of either Congress or BJP were present in the meetings held in Chincholi.
Neither deputy chief minister G Parameshwara who has been entrusted with the task of supervising poll campaign, nor the KPCC working president Eshwar Khandre were present on the day of filing nomination papers by Congress candidate Subhash Rathod. Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge who contested from Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency has also remained away from campaigning so far. Local leaders are unaware whether senior leaders of the coalition like former chief minister Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and H D Kumaraswamy would visit Chincholi ahead of the bypolls.
However, District Congress Committee president Jagadev Guttedar said that Kalaburagi district in-charge minister Priyank Kharge, former minister Sharanaprakash Patil and legislators are actively campaigning for the success of Congress candidate Subhash Rathod. He said that KPCC president Dinesh Gundu Rao and deputy chief minister G Parameshwara would campaign in Chincholi on Monday and Tuesday. “Both leaders would arrive in Kalaburagi on Monday morning and take part in the party meeting scheduled in Kalaburagi.They would then proceed to Chincholi for election campaign.”
BJP district unit president Doddappa Gowda Patil Naribol said that the party’s state unit general secretary N Ravikumar, former minister Somanna, Bidar MP Bhagavant Khuba and BJP legislators were actively campaigning for Avinash Jadhav. BJP state unit president B S Yeddyurappa is expected to reach Kalaburagi on Monday morning from where he would leave for Chincholi. “He would meet leaders of different castes and communities and local organisations to request them to support BJP. He would also address an election meeting in Chincholi on Monday,” Doddappa Gowda said.