Hubballi: There’s a peculiarity about the twin Assembly constituencies of Nargund and Ron in Gadag district : whichever party has won from them has come to power in Karnataka since 1952.
So it’s no surprise that both Congress and BJP leaders strongly believe their party will rule the state should it win both seats.
Gandhian Jnanadev Doddameti was elected from Ron on an Indian National Congress ticket in 1957 and the party too won that year with a 150 seats in its kitty. In more recent times, Ron constituency has seen a direct fight between Mr G S Patil of the Congress and Mr Kalakappa Bhandi of the BJP during the last four elections. Both won twice each and coincidentally their parties too came to power in the state every time.
In Nargund, the main contenders have been Mr B R Yavagal of the Congress and Mr C C Patil of the BJP during the last three consecutive Assembly elections. Their parties too came to power every time they won.
Known as the land of the farmers’ rebellion after two farmers died during police firing here in 1980 while protesting against the levying of a betterment fee, Nargund is today a hotbed of the Mahadayi movement. Farmer leaders here lament that their long-pending demand for implementation of the Kalasa Banduri project has not been met although the parties that won from both Nargund and Ron constituencies, have come to power in the state several times.
“Mahadayi has become merely a political tool for all parties looking to come to power. They forget all about the issue once the elections are held although farmers continue to battle successive years of drought,” rues farmer leader, Vijay Kulkarni.
