BELAGAVI: The third phase of polls on May 7 is poised for a closely contested battle between the BJP and Congress in the majority of the 14 of the 28 remaining seats in the state.
However, all eyes are on the three top guns of the BJP, former Chief Ministers Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, who have locked horns against three young Congress rivals in North Karnataka, a Lingayat heartland.
The election for Belagavi, Haveri and Hubballi seats, where Shettar, Bommai and Joshi are in the fray, respectively, largely depends on which way the votes of the dominant Lingayat community swing.
Given the popularity of the three leaders in North Karnataka, a Lingayat heartland, it looks as though the trio will emerge triumphant, but the contest in all three constituencies will go down to the wire if the changing political scenario on the ground is anything to go by.
The trio does not have much to boast about development and heavily depend on the same 'Modi factor.'
With an eye on the Lingayat votes, the BJP and Congress fielded Lingayat candidates in the Belagavi and Gadag-Haveri constituencies.
When asked whether the attempts by the two parties to grab a major chunk of Lingayat votes will work, Siddarama Swamy of Gadag Tontadarya Math, who is one of the noted Lingayat seers in North Karnataka, said, "The BJP is largely dependent on the 'Modi factor' in this election more than any other issue. Although efforts are being made to woo Lingayats, I don't think the Lingayat factor will help the candidates in this election. The caste factor will not play a major role even as the large number of voters in all three constituencies are Lingayats," he said.
Unfortunately, efforts are being made to polarise society by the political parties for their political gains, he said, adding that the voters should not get carried away by all that and should support all the able candidates in the fray, irrespective of their party affiliations.
The contest between Joshi and youth Congress leader Vinod Asuti is expected to be an interesting one after Dingaleshwar Swamy of Shirahatti Bhavaikya Peetha opted out of the contest in the Hubballi constituency.
With the BJP and Congress fielding non-Lingayats—Joshi is a Brahmin while Asuti is a Kuruba—it is interesting to see which way the votes of the Lingayat community swing in Hubballi.
After quitting the contest, Dingaleshwar Swamy is still opposing the BJP's decision to field Joshi and trying to halt Lingayat votes going in his kitty.
However, Joshi is confident of registering his fifth victory as MP this time.
While sharing his views on how the Lingayat factor will play a role, senior Supreme Court advocate and political commentator Mohan Katarki said the Lingayat factor will play a major role in most of the 14 constituencies that go to poll on May 7.
He believes a major chunk of Lingayats may vote for the BJP in the Hubballi constituency, where both parties have fielded non-Lingayats.
"The Congress should have fielded an OBC candidate from Haveri instead of Hubballi and given a ticket to a Lingayat from Hubballi to benefit from the Lingayat factor. The votes of the community will split between the two parties in Haveri and Belagavi but Joshi will benefit from them in Hubballi," Katarki added.
Anandayya Gaddadevarmath, a not-so-popular Lingayat and Congress candidate from Gadag-Haveri, is also expected to put up a stiff fight against Bommai, with the possibility of a massive split of Lingayat votes. The BJP leaders feel Bommai will win by a big margin but several leaders of the Lingayat community expect a close clash here.
According to official records, the sitting Haveri MP, Shivakumar Udasi of the BJP, polled a vote share of 53.97 percent against DR Patil of the Congress in the 2019 parliamentary election. Both candidates hail from the Lingayat community.
On the caste factor, Jagadish Shettar, who faces youngster Mrinal Hebbalkar of the Congress, said the caste of Lingayat factor would not play any role in Lok Sabha elections.
"If you see the way previous elections were fought, you will find that the national issues assumed importance here. The voters will be more concerned about national issues than any others," he said.
However, sources said the BJP and Congress have made all possible attempts to woo Lingayat voters in Belagavi constituency.
Another noted Lingayat leader and BJP MP from Chikkodi, Annasaheb Jolle said his party had the support of all the communities due to the massive development done by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He believes the Lingayat factor may not play any role in Belagavi district.
