HUBBALLI: Among the assembly segments going for elections, Dharwad constituency is different, where the Congress candidate is not visible to voters. Vinay Kulkarni is not allowed to enter the constituency to campaign, and is largely dependent on his family members and close supporters. On the other hand, the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to exploit this situation and retain the seat, as no party or candidate has held it successively since 1983.
Dharwad, erstwhile Dharwad Rural constituency, has never been a stronghold of any political party or individual, and voters here have even elected independents, both in general and by-elections. It also elected farmer leader Prof M D Nanjundaswamy, while another farmer leader, Babagouda Patil, vacated his seat after he got elected from two constituencies in the 1989 general election.
Earlier, the segment had a large agrarian population, so the farmers’ movement was strong here and in neighbouring Navalgund segment. But after the 2008 delimitation exercise, the dynamics of the constituency changed, with the inclusion of a few wards of Dharwad city. However, its caste equation did not change, as Lingayat votes continue to be dominant and are the deciding factor.
In the last four hustings, Vinay Kulkarni won twice -- once as an Independent (2004) and again on the Congress ticket (2013) -- while the BJP won twice. While the BJP has fielded sitting MLA Amrut Desai, the Congress has gone with Kulkarni, despite his alleged involvement in the killing of BJP member Yogishgouda Gowdar in 2016, and is out on bail.
After the CBI took up investigation in 2019, Kulkarni was arrested in November 2020, but got bail in August 2021 from the Supreme Court, which imposed a ban on his entry into Dharwad district. Though he tried to get a respite from this restriction, citing the election, the High Court struck down his request recently. However, Vinay is using it to his advantage, accusing the BJP of pursuing hate politics, and trying to garner sympathy.
Another factor in his favour is his role in the movement to include the Panchamsali sect of Lingayats into 2B reservation quota. Also, votes of this sect form a considerable number in Dharwad. Though BJP’s Amrut Desai belongs to the same sect, he is facing strong anti-incumbency. In fact, the party thought of dropping him if Vinay chose any other constituency. As the latter stuck to his traditional seat, the party felt Amrut was the best bet. However, Amrut says he is confident of victory because of a slew of development and welfare programmes implemented by the Modi and Bommai governments.
On the other hand, Vinay’s wife Shivaleela, who is spearheading his campaign, believes the good work he has done will come in handy in getting support. Raising the issue of BJP’s politics during her campaign, she says Vinay is getting enough support from the people though he is not in the constituency.
Political analysts say defection can play spoilsport for the saffron party, as none of the party leaders in the constituency are active. While Tavanappa Ashtagi quit the party, former MLA Seema Masuti has stayed aloof from the campaign. It is also a battle of prestige for Union minister Pralhad Joshi, as he is being targeted for fixing Vinay in the murder case and fielding Amrut, despite resistance.