BELAGAVI: An interesting clash is on the cards in the Chikkodi Lok Sabha constituency this time between Congress and BJP, with both parties fielding members of two politically powerful families. Breaking its tradition of fielding seniors in such big elections, Congress this time has picked 26-year-old Priyanka Jarkiholi and if she wins, she will be one of the youngest MPs in the country.
Daughter of PWD Minister and KPCC working president Satish Jarkiholi, Priyanka will face sitting MP Annasaheb Jolle of BJP, who won by a margin of 1.17 lakh votes against Prakash Hukkeri of Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.
Cong-Bjp pluses and minuses
The votes of a large chunk of backward classes and minorities spread across most of the eight assembly segments (2 SC-reserved, 1 SC) will be crucial in this constituency, which was a bastion of Congress for a long time.
Jolle, a well-known industrialist and businessman in Chikkodi, has emerged as a popular leader. He heads the popular Jolle Group of Companies, which runs cooperative unions, educational institutions and various other entities. His wife Shashikala Jolle, who is a former minister, is the MLA from Nipani, and the family has a good connection with people at the grassroots level across the constituency.
The ‘Modi factor’ and the upcoming series of rallies by BJP’s star campaigners in Chikkodi will come in handy for him. But several prominent ticket aspirants in the party who are upset over not getting the ticket may not rally behind Jolle actively, even as attempts are being made by the top brass to pacify them.
On the other hand, Congress is looking to consolidate the votes of backward classes and minorities, riding on victories which it achieved in five of the eight assembly segments in the last elections. Satish Jarkiholi, MLA of Yamakanamardi, enjoys big support from voters across all assembly constituencies. His connection with the Marathi people in the border region is an added advantage for his daughter. With two of his brothers, Balachandra Jarkiholi and Ramesh Jarkiholi being sitting MLAs from BJP, there is also a possibility of many traditional BJP votes going the Congress way. However, the denial of a party ticket to senior leaders, particularly from the Kuruba community, has upset a section of people in the Grand Old Party.
Flashback
Congress fielded late B Shankaranand, former Union Minister, in nine elections starting from 1967 and he won seven of them back to back, creating a record of sorts in Indian politics. But he lost both his eighth and ninth elections.
Of the 16 Lok Sabha elections held in Chikkodi since 1957, only two families have held the Member of Parliament seat in 10 elections in the constituency ,with Ramesh Jigajinagi winning the seat three times in a row (1998, 1999, 2004) and Shankaranand seven times. The constituency that was SC Reserved till 2004 was changed to general category from the 2009 elections.
As per records, the candidates other than Shankaranand and Jigajinagi who have won the Chikkodi seat are Datta Katti (SC Federation) in 1957, VL Patil (Congress) in 1962, Ramesh Katti (BJP) in 2009, Prakash Hukkeri (Congress) in 2014 and Annasaheb Jolle in 2019.