HUBBALLI: When the battle for the Karnataka West Graduates’ constituency for a Legislative Council seat is heating up, the Janata Dal (Secular) has laid down its arms. Fearing defeat, it has decided to withdraw its party candidate Shivashnakr Kallur and instead support an independent, Basavaraj Gurikar.
The JDS does not have the ground support or strong party organisation in the constituency, which covers four districts of Bombay-Karnataka region -- Dharwad, Haveri, Gadag and Uttara Kannada.
The party’s official line, however, is that the untimely death of Kallur’s father-in-law affected his campaigning and he had to spend time with the family. “A graduates’ constituency election requires one-on-one approach, but the party failed. The state leadership has now decided to keep away from the election,” said party senior leader Basavaraj Horatti.
With their candidate gone, party workers and leaders wanted to know which party candidate they should support, except the BJP and Congress. After getting the feedback from district units, it was decided to back Gurikar, who enjoys support among the teaching community and has the ability to win the poll, Horatti said.
Party sources said that Kallur did not do any groundwork, though his candidature was announced well in advance. He wanted party top leaders to campaign and fund his election. But the leadership was unhappy with his attitude and decided to distance itself from the election.Gurikar, meanwhile, has struggled hard for the past 18 months to make his presence felt in the election. Initially, he sought tickets from all political parties, including BJP, and after he failed to get a favourable response from any of them, he decided to contest as an independent.
Pleasantly surprised by the turn of events, Gurikar said that the support of JDS, especially of Horatti, would boost his chances. “I have already completed three rounds of campaigning and Horatti backing me at this juncture will help me convince voters about the seriousness of my contest,” he said, adding that JDS’ support is unconditional.
Though Horatti is confident of transferring his core votes, Gurikar himself is associated familiar only to primary teachers and has no influence among other graduates. His performance will now depend on how Horatti’s voters will exercise their franchise, sources said.