KALABURAGI: The assembly elections in Maharashtra slated to be held on November 20 are very crucial for the Congress, especially for party leaders from North Karnataka as some of the districts including Nanded, Latur, Osmanabad (now Dharashiv), Solapur, Sangli, Kolhapur and Sindhudurg are located along the border districts of North Karnataka region, which include Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapur and Belagavi districts.
Many relatives of Kannadigas from Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapur and Belagavi districts reside in six districts of Maharashtra and their votes are crucial as far as the winnability of the candidates is concerned. Solapur and Latur districts, in particular, have a good number of Kannadigas.
Maharashtra elections have become a prestigious issue for the Congress as AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, hails from Kalaburagi (his birth place is Warawatti of Bidar district), which has a good number of people whose mother tongue is Marathi. In fact, Kharge is also versed in Marathi language.
According to sources, the Congress has prepared a list of leaders from Bidar, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and Belagavi districts and has asked them to campaign in favour of the Congress in those six districts. Many Congress leaders will be leaving for the districts assigned to them in a day or two as the Deepavali festival celebrations have almost completed and these leaders will camp in Maharashtra till the end of campaigning. The Congress is a major partner in the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance which is fighting the elections against NDA.
At present, the NDA is in power in Maharashtra. The BJP is also sending its leaders from North Karnataka, who can speak Marathi, to woo Kannadiga voters residing in Maharashtra.
Already, the Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police of the bordering districts of Maharashtra and Karnataka have conducted meetings and chalked out strategies to prevent liquor coming from Karnataka to Maharashtra and to prevent the entry of anti-social elements entering Maharashtra from Karnataka.