BASAVAKALYAN (BIDAR DISTRICT): For the first time in the history of Basavakalyan constituency, bypolls are being held on the basis of ‘gratitude plus sympathy vs gratitude plus caste’. A visit to many villages of Basavakalyan constituency — spread over 115 villages — makes one thing clear:
There is no noticeable Modi or Congress wave. Villagers remember with gratitude their late legislator B Narayana Rao, who died of Covid-19 in September. He was a simple man who mingled with everyone. During the lockdown, he had visited many villages, provided medical assistance and foodgrains to the poor, the villagers recall. His wife, Mala, is contesting as a Congress candidate.
The villagers are grateful to BJP candidate Sharanu Salagar too. Though bypolls were not predicted as Narayana Rao was hale and hearty during the lockdown last April, Salagar visited many villages and distribute foodgrains to villagers. “We are in a dilemma whom to vote for,” say the villagers.
Most of the villagers said that they were waiting for money. Peerappa, a cobbler from Chikkanagava village, Suryakant, a tailor from Hatyal village, Mehboobi, who owns a small hotel in Harkod village, and vegetable vendor Torubai of Mudabi village remember both Rao and Salagar with gratitude.
“Rao has gone to heaven, we don’t know how his widow will treat us if she is elected, we can’t predict how Salagar will serve the constituency. We are poor, and leaders of parties have met us, but haven’t given us anything except assurances.
We are yet to decide whom to vote for,” they say.Torubai, a widow, said she hasn’t been able to get a loan from the government, and hasn’t received widow pension for more than a year. “Tell me whom I should vote for, we have a BJP government but our MLA was from the Congress,” she says.
Social activist Suryanarayan said that though almost all villages have schools, many of them are run in rented buildings. The villages lack infrastructure like roads, streetlights and sanitation, and many thandas do not have bus facilities.Basavaraj, a political watcher, says the JDS fielded a candidate belonging to the minority community, Syed Yasrab Ali Quadri, who could succeed in getting minority votes which would help the BJP, as these voters are believed to be Congress supporters.
This despite two-time former MLA Mallikarjun Khuba, then in the JDS, now contesting as an independent. Khuba might cut into BJP votes as he had contested on a BJP ticket last time, and was a strong contender this time too. Apart from this, about 20,000 voters have migrated to cities like Mumbai, Pune and Hyderabad, and would play a role in deciding how the vote swings, Basavaraj felt.
KPCC spokesperson Priyank Kharge said after a gap of more than 30 years, voters of Basavakalyan had elected a Congress candidate in 2018, but as Narayana Rao passed away within 30 months, the people could not blame him for the backwardness of the constituency. If voted this time, the party would take the responsibility of developing the constituency, he said. BJP spokesperson Rajkumar Patil Telkur listed out the welfare measures taken by BJP for Basavakalyan.