When BJP heavyweights defected to the Congress, including Lingayat strongmen such as former Chief Minister Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, the perception of an imminent Congress win in the Karnataka Assembly election was strong.
It brought much cheer to the Congress at a time when the grand old party is also gearing up for bipolar contests against the saffron party in Hindi heartland states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh later this year as well as the all-important Lok Sabha polls next year.
It is a well-known fact that these leaders hopped on to the Congress bandwagon after being denied a ticket by the BJP.
But will rewarding turncoats with tickets in elections pay off for the Congress?
Maybe not.
As per early trends, Congress’ Jagadish Shettar is trailing. That’s not something the grand old party had expected from Shettar, who served as CM between July 2012 and May 2013, and has represented the Hubbali Dharwad Central constituency for six terms. He was among the BJP’s frontline leaders, perhaps next only to former Chief Minister and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa.
But electoral fortunes can change as fast as anyone can imagine.
In the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls in 2022, which saw the BJP sweeping to power for the second consecutive term, amajority of the turncoats failed to win their seats.
Of the 21 turncoats, only four managed to win the polls. Nine of the turncoats were fielded by the BJP and 10 by the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Prominent losers included former UP ministers Swami Prasad Maurya and Dharam Singh Saini, who had joined the SP just ahead of the polls; and former Bareilly mayor Supriya Aron.
However, as per early trends, in Athani, Savadi is leading. He had been elected MLA for three consecutive terms between 2004 and 2013 before losing his Athani seat to Mahesh Kumathalli (who was then in the Congress) in 2018. Kumathalli defeated Savadi by a margin of 2,330 votes in 2018 election.
With both Savadi and Kumathalli belonging to the Lingayat community, it still remains to be seen which way will the voters go. A clear picture will emerge by midday.
In a fierce contest, Kumathalli defeated Savadi by a margin of 2,330 votes in 2018 election. With both Savadi and Kumathalli belonging to the Lingayat community, we will soon know which way will the voters go.
