BJP Fields Charantimath For Bagalkot Bypoll
BJP intent to bank on familiarity and caste arithmetic to reclaim the seat.
Bagalkot : In an expected move, the BJP on Thursday named senior Lingayat leader and former MLA Veerabhadrayya (Veeranna) Charantimath as its candidate for the Bagalkot Assembly by-election, signalling the party’s intent to bank on familiarity and caste arithmetic to reclaim the seat.
The announcement was made by the party’s central leadership as part of its list for bypolls across five constituencies in four states.
Charantimath, a three-time MLA (2004, 2008 and 2018), has been the BJP’s go-to face in the constituency for over two decades. His electoral record reflects a strongly fought rivalry with Meti — with both leaders defeating each other twice in the four elections they fought against each other. While Charantimath lost the last Assembly election in 2023 by a margin of 5,878 votes, the BJP wants his established base and prior victories to tilt the scales in its favour in the bypoll.
The party’s decision is said to be based on political arithmetic. Lingayat community is said to be the strongest in the Bagalkot assembly constituency. BJP wants to tap Charantimath’s prominence within the community. At the same time, the BJP is also seeking to exploit emerging fault lines within the Congress camp.
Sources indicate that the Congress is likely to field a candidate from Meti’s family, with the Kuruba community — another influential bloc in the constituency — playing a major role. However BJP wants to capitalize the internal competition among Meti’s children for the ticket.
