Bengaluru: Even as Congress leaders are doing everything to wrest Bellary (ST) Assembly constituency from BJP, the ruling party’s candidate N. Y. Gopalkrishna could find it difficult to pull off a victory because members of his community and Muslims of Molakalmuru constituency are determined to queer the pitch for him.
These supporters-turned-foes of Mr. Gopalkrishna have been camping in the constituency to ensure his defeat much to the delight of former minister B. Sreeramulu and other leaders of BJP.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a Congress leader from Molakalmuru disclosed that Mr Gopalkrishna lost his fifth election from that constituency due to haughty behaviour with leaders of his community (Nayaka). Besides, a large section of Muslim leaders was cut up with him as he failed to solve a land dispute between members of the community and the education department.
“Mr. Gopalkrishna was using the Muslim community to protect his interests by exploiting differences within the community or by portraying the community as a communal force in the region, thus driving a wedge between Muslims and the majority community in Molakalmuru constituency.
Fed up with his machinations, Muslims decided to teach him a lesson by ensuring his defeat in Assembly polls held in 2013. Now, the same leaders are camping in Bellary to convince Muslims not to support him,” the leader added.
The leader said the dispute over ownership of approximately 15ft of land between authorities of a Mosque and the education department took a communal turn about two years when the Mosque authorities brought a stay on construction of school building in Molakalmuru taluk.
“The community had made an appeal to allow their proposed shopping complex to be built on land belonging to the education department about a couple of years ago. At that time, Mr Gopalakrishna took sides with members of the community and even ensured that the education department let go its claim on five feet but the community was not happy with this decision.
