Bidar: Can the strong undercurrents of the Modi wave believed to be sweeping across Bidar Lok Sabha constituency in favour of BJP candidate Bhagwanth Khuba ensure there is no upset by KPCC Working President Eshwar Khandre, who is in the fray as the Congress candidate?
This is the question being debated in political circles in the constituency, which has been a bastion of the BJP ever since the ‘grand old man of Bidar’ as late Ramachandrappa Veerappa was known, first won the seat in 1991. Since then there was no looking back for him till his death at the advanced age of 96 in 2004 a few months after he got elected for the fifth consecutive term.
The charisma of this veteran freedom fighter and Arya Samaj leader was such that in the 2004 election though he was bed-ridden and not able to move out of his house for canvassing, he won the seat. His condition was such that he could not even go to the DC’s office to collect his victory certificate. The DC went all the way to Mr Veerappa’s residence to hand him over the certificate.
Mr Narasingrao Suryvamshi, a veteran Congress leader, won the seat in the 2004 by-election. After Bidar became a general seat in 2009 following delimitation, late CM N Dharam Singh of Congress won it against BJP’s Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli. But in 2014, the Modi wave was so strong that even a wily politician like Dharam Singh who had marshalled the backward class, Dalit and Muslim voters to support him, had to face defeat at the hands of a political novice Bhagwanth Khuba, who won with an impresive margin of 92,222 votes securing the highest number of 4,59,290 votes in the history of the Bidar Lok Sabha seat. This time there is a straight fight between Mr Khuba and three–time Bhalki MLA Eshwar Khandre, although BSP candidate Shanul Haq Bukhari is in the fray.
During the last five years, though Mr Khuba has not done anything to spoil his image, he has not emerged as a prominent leader of his party in the district. With former BJP District President Subash Kallur almost deciding to take political sanyas due to continuous defeats in Humnabad constituency, Dalit leader Rajendra Verma retiring and two-term BJP MLA Prakash Khandre joining the JD(S) in protest against denial of the BJP ticket to him, the saffron party and Mr Khuba are heavily dependent on the Modi wave to beat Mr Khandre.
Another factor hindering Mr Khuba this time is the absence of yoga guru Baba Ramdev from the campaign scene in Bidar. The yoga guru who was said to have played a pivotal role in getting the ticket for Mr Khuba, had camped for a couple of days in Bidar district to canvass for him last time. This time he is absent from the campaign for the BJP anywhere in the country due to his reported differences with the party top brass.
For Mr Khandre, the prospects appear pretty rosy. Of the eight Assembly segments in Bidar Lok Sabha seat four seats (Bhalki, Humnabad, Bidar North and Basavakalyana) are held by Congress MLAs, and one (Bidar South) by JD(S) minister Bandeppa Kashempur. The Chincholi Assembly which was represented by Congress MLA Dr Umesh Jadhav, has fallen vacant due to his resignation. The remaining two seats- Aurad and Aland- are represented by the BJP in the Assembly.
While Bandeppa Kashempur is said to be canvassing for Mr Khandre, some leaders of JD(S) are not actively taking part in the campaign, reportedly due to the indifferent attitude shown by the Congress candidate. However Mr Khandre, who is the General Secretary of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha, enjoys the backing of the organisation’s network. And thirdly as his family runs a chain of educational institutions in the district, and also run a cooperative sugar factory, Mr Khandre has the added advantage of being quite well known to voters.
The Lingayats are the dominant community in the seat, followed by Dalits, Muslims, Marathas and Kurubas ( also known as Gondas in the district). The Congress candidate is expected to get the support of the Muslims and a sizeable number of SC votes except Lambani votes while the Marathas, who are traditionally supporters of the BJP, may again vote for saffron party. The backing of the Lingayats will decide the winner in Bidar. “As both candidates are Lingayats, the community votes will be divided. It’s important to note here that Lingayats in the district were in the forefront of the movement for separate Lingayat religion. Whichever candidate manages to get the support of the majority of Lingayats, will emerge victorious,” said a political observer.
