DHNS

Bangalore/Bellary, Jan 5: Who said the mining tycoons of Bellary can’t be defeated on their home turf? The results of the Zilla and Taluk Panchayat elections in Bellary show the ruling BJP — to be precise, the Reddy brothers — struggling to keep its vote bank intact. 
 
In the 2008 Assembly elections, the BJP bagged eight of the nine seats in the mine-rich district.

Cut to the panchayat polls two-and-a-half years later. The saffron party could win only 18 seats in the 36-member Bellary ZP, which means retaining the ZP wouldn’t be easy. Tourism Minister Janardhana Reddy is the district in-charge minister.

Congress comeback

The Congress has made a strong comeback in the politically volatile district, bagging 17 seats. The JD(S) has won one. It is obvious that the Congress will join hands with the JD (S) to ensure that the BJP does not come to power.

In the 2005 panchayat elections, Bellary was the lone ZP held by the saffron party. It had won 18 seats, followed by the Congress (10) and the JD(S) (8).

In the same year, the BJP launched ‘Operation Lotus’ to come to power in the Bellary ZP because the party had won 18 seats, which was equivalent to the combined strength of the JD(S) and the Congress.

Of the 10 Congress members, the BJP made four of them quit, to form Bellary Janata Party. Later, these four supported the BJP to come to power.

This time, too, the BJP may not hesitate to take up a similar exercise. A JD(S) woman candidate has won from the Haccholli ZP. The BJP may try to woo her so that its strength will go up to 19, one more than the combined number of the Opposition, and achieve the majority mark.

The revival of the Congress is seen as a message by the electorate that they cannot be taken for granted. The Congress’ padayatra from Bangalore to Bellary against illegal mining seems to have paid electoral dividends.

The BJP’s downslide was evident in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections when its candidate J Shantha won by a slender margin.

Says Congress district president Diwakar Babu: “The people in Bellary realised the malafide intention of the ruling party within six months after the BJP government came to power. The people have clearly voted against the BJP.”

The BJP has failed miserably in Hadagali, Hagaribommanahalli and Sandur taluk in the district, the only saving grace being Bellary taluk where it has made a clean sweep.

It’s the same story again in neighbouring Harapanahalli taluk in Davangere district, the constituency of Revenue Minister Karunakara Reddy. The BJP was not in a position to even open its account in the taluk which has six ZP seats.

In sharp contrast, Gadag, under the newly appointed district in-charge minister C C Patil, voted for 11 BJP candidates in the 18-member ZP.

A few weeks before the elections, Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa removed B Sreeramulu as minister in-charge of Gadag.