BELAGAVI: With the high-voltage public campaign concluding on Wednesday, the countdown for the high-stakes Sindagi and Hanagal bypoll has begun with the BJP and Congress predicting a win for their respective candidates.
According to political pundits, the BJP bolstered its position at the fag end of the campaign by having most of its leaders and ministers in Sindagi and Hanagal constituencies. The Congress and JDS leaders also had a hectic last-round of campaigning in an attempt to woo voters.
Given the latest trends and buzz around Sindagi, the saffron party is likely to gain from the possible split of votes between the Congress and JDS. But Congress leaders predict a direct clash between the BJP and their party, while writing off JDS as insignificant.
However, the BJP’s plans to face the next Assembly elections in Karnataka under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s leadership by dumping B S Yediyurappa could result in the swing of a sizable chunk of Lingayat votes in favour of the Congress, feel political analysts even as they give an edge to the BJP while expecting a reasonably good show by JDS in the end.
A confident Congress leadership predicted a victory for the party by at least 15,000 votes in Sindagi while hitting out at the BJP government for the rising prices of petrol, diesel, LPG cooking gas, and other essential commodities.
“Neither the JDS will split our votes in Sindagi nor will the BJP gain from any factor. People across the country are in a crisis owing to rising prices and the failure of the BJP government at the state and Centre,’’ said former minister and senior Congress leader M B Patil.
He said the Congress has consolidated its position in Sindagi as people belonging to all sections will rally behind it — whether it was the dominant Lingayat community or the backward communities. Calling Yediyurappa as a tall leader of the Lingayats, Patil said that the community voters will rally behind the Congress due to the failures of the BJP government.
Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah, alleged that the BJP was involved in distributing money to voters. He alleged that as many as 10-12 ministers were camping in one constituency and that the Congress will lodge a complaint with the Election Commission. He expressed confidence of the Congress winning both Hanagal and Sindagi,
The BJP, which rushed most of its top leaders and ministers, headed by Bommai and Yediyurappa, to campaign in Sindagi and Hanagal, is confident of a victory in both the seats. While Bommai has said that there was a BJP ‘tsunami’ in the state, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel has predicted a thumping victory for his party’s candidates.
Although the Congress and JDS leaders have predicted a defeat for the BJP as people are fed up with soaring prices of essential commodities, the BJP leaders see a clear win for the party.