A day ahead of the key vote in Bellary which will nail the fiction on whether the Reddy mine barons still hold sway in this mining town or not, an accidental shooting at the BJP’s party office that injured ten party activists raised fresh concerns over the acrimonious, neck to neck battle between the BJP and rebel candidate B. Sreeramulu, which comes to a head on Wednesday.
Chief Minister Sadananda Gowda, whose party’s credibility as well as its unity is on the line, all but conceded defeat when he said on Tuesday that while he believed the BJP had pulled ahead of Sreeramulu, victory or defeat was not as important as reclaiming the party’s clean image.
“For the BJP, it is a prestige issue as it wants to show that it is the party and not the individual that matters,” sources said.
Front-runner Sreeramulu speaking to Deccan Chronicle while on his way to Etiina Budihal village on the eve of Wednesday’s byelection however exuded confidence and made no secret of his plans to attack the ruling party in the five districts of Chitradurga, Bellary, Koppal, Raichur and Gadag over which he believes he has “considerable clout.”
Admitting that he was missing the guiding hand of his mentor Gali Janardhan Reddy, main accused in the illegal mining case who remains in jail since September, Sreeramulu however spelt out his future plans if he wins the seat.
“I can win three seats each in Chitradurga and Koppal, four each in Gadag and Raichur, nine in Bellary, one each in Bijapur and Bagalkot and two to three seats in Old Mysore region, purely on the strength of my own image,” Sreeramulu said, adding that any plans to ally with other parties would be looked at later.
A defeat will rock the fledgling D.V. Sadananda Gowda ministry and be seen as a loss of face, as the Reddy brothers claim the support of around 14 of the BJP’s 119 lawmakers in the 225-member assembly that includes one nominated member.
Sreeramulu, whose vote bank is said to be intact in the villages needs the Muslim vote, numbering 35-40,000 to come his way in order to win.
RAMULU KEEPS FLOCK TOGETHER
While the BJP’s cadre seems to be in a disarray on the eve of polling for the Bellary (ST) assembly constituency, former minister B. Sreeramulu, contesting the elections as an independent has managed to keep his flock together at the grassroots, which could prove crucial to the outcome.
“There is no confusion among our cadres. Some minor problems were sorted out in a few pockets. I strongly feel now that Sreeramulu will win these elections,” said suspended BJP MLC Mruthyunjaya Jinaga, who has thrown in his lot with the rebel former minister, a close aide of the Reddy brothers.
Unfortunately for the BJP he has taken away almost all its grassroot level cadre and is using them to take on his rival candidates in the byelection, enjoying an edge as a result over them in this semi-urban and semi-rural constituency.
“Despite the government machinery working for the ruling party, everything has gone smoothly for us. Now we just have to wait and see how the elections go,” said a key-player in the Sreeramulu camp, which is is also reportedly better placed in “resources and man management” compared to the other parties, since his men are familiar with the voters.
“But the ruling party is confronting big pilferage of its resources in the absence of loyal workers who are cornering them and not allowing them to reach the real voters”, said a political observer.
Admitting that the party lacked a strong base in a couple of villages of the 62 rural pockets in the constituency, BJP leader Virupakshagouda, however believes this will not make a difference.
Fact file
* Bellary is about 300 km from Bengaluru and the rural seat is reserved for the Scheduled Tribes.
* Over 1,70,000 people, including about 86,000 women, are eligible to vote in the bypoll which has become a matter of political survival for the three Reddy brothers.
* The battle is essentially between Sreeramulu and the BJP's nominee P. Gadi Lingappa, a Bellary businessman, who is contesting an Assembly poll for the first time.
* Counting of votes is on Dec 4.
* 8,447 sq.km: Area of Bellary, about six times as large as the National Capital Region of Delhi
* 1/5th of India’s iron ore is mined in Bellary district
* 64Fe: The quality of iron ore is among the world’s finest
* 80% of Bellary’s ore is exported to China, Japan and Australia
* 1/3rd of all families here live below the poverty line
* 57% is the literacy rate in Bellary and 67% in Karnataka
Numbers speak
Total number of voters: 1.72 lakh
Voting percentage in 2008: 60%
Muslim votes: 40,000
Lingayats: 30,000
Valmikis: 38,000
Kurubas: 22,000
SCs: 20,000
