Bellary: Aided by the “Modi wave” former minister, B Sreeramulu had managed to get a lead of 9,025 votes in the Bellary (ST) Assembly segment in the recent Lok Sabha elections that sent him to parliament. Should this trend continue even three months later in the coming bypoll from the constituency, the Valmiki strongman’s personal assistant, Obalesh, who is contesting from it, could have an easy win in his bastion.
As expected, of the 47,868 people who voted from the nine wards of Cowl Bazaar area in Bellary city dominated by Muslims and scheduled castes in the last Lok Sabha election, 20,380 backed the BJP and 24, 970, the Congress, giving it a lead of 4,590 votes. And again throwing up no surprises, 46,628 of the 1,13,067 voters of the 19 gram panchayats covering 61 villages dominated by Valmikis and Lingayats, backed the BJP (Mr Sreeramulu) and 33,013, the Congress.
Mr Sreeramulu who lost the support of the Muslims of Cowl Bazar area who had stood by him in the 2008, 2011 and 2013 assembly elections, still managed to get a lead of 9025 votes as a result.
But whether he will be able to pull off this sort of win again depends greatly on how far the ruling Congress in the state can succeed in keeping its Muslim votebank intact in Cowl Bazaar and woo the Lingayats and Valmikis of the rural areas of the constituency to its side to taste its first ever victory in the constituency formed in 2008.
