The Hindu : Karnataka News : Close contest likely in Harpanahalli

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Karnataka

Close contest likely in Harpanahalli

Staff Correspondent

Prakash is pitted against the BJP MP for Bellary Karunakara Reddy

The total number of voters is 1,51,712
Harpanahalli has been a Congress citadel

Karunakara Reddy and M.P. Prakash

DAVANGERE: M.P. Prakash, former Deputy Chief Minister and Congress candidate, and G. Karunakara Reddy, Bellary MP and BJP candidate, are involved in a straight contest in the Harpanahalli Assembly segment.

Both the leaders have been campaigning hard, visiting Lambani tandas, villages and hamlets.

The Janata Dal (S) has fielded Ramana Gowda, an advocate, who had been a Congressman for the past 26 years. Mr. Ramana Gowda, a zilla panchayat member, had hoped of getting the party ticket after Harpanahalli became a general segment in the delimitation exercise.

But with the entry of Mr. Prakash into the Congress, his hopes were dashed and Mr. Ramana Gowda joined the Janata Dal (S), which gave him the ticket.

Both Mr. Prakash and Mr. Reddy are making every effort to impress the electorate. They have been reportedly assisting the self-help groups (SHGs) and donating funds to temples. They have been visiting the maths in the constituency.

In fact, both of them visited the Panchamasali Lingayat Math in Davangere, whose members are in significant number in the constituency.

There total number of voters is 1,51,712, with 78,975 men and 72,737 women.

Lingayats, constituting 20 per cent of the total electorate, are a major community in the constituency.

There are over 15 sub-castes among Lingayats here, including Panchamasali and Sadhu Lingayats.

Members of the Naika community constitute 18 per cent of the total voters. The Kuruba community constitutes around 10 per cent, Lambanis 11 per cent, and Dalits 12 per cent. Nine per cent of the electorate is Muslim and the OBCs constitute 20 per cent. Brahmins, Jains and others constitute 3 per cent.

A sizable section of the minorities here is working for Mr. Reddy. He had taken care of many Muslims who were arrested along with Hindus when a communal clash broke out in the town some years ago.

Many Muslim leaders say they want to express their gratitude to Mr. Reddy by working for him.

Mr. Prakash has managed to take many disgruntled aspirants of the party into confidence before the start of the election campaign.

He visited the houses of Chandrashekar Bhat and Chidanandappa, who were strong contenders for the party ticket. Both these leaders are now working for Mr. Prakash.

However, there has been a complaint among Congress workers in many hoblis that Mr. Prakash is not taking them into confidence and that he is surrounded by those who were earlier with him in the Janata Dal (S).

Harpanahalli has been a bastion of the Congress, which has won here continuously since 1952, except in 1994 when Narayan Das emerged victorious as an independent candidate.

Mr. Prakash says that Harpanahalli has been a Congress citadel and as he has had a long association with Harpanahalli, he will win the elections.

Mr. Reddy says he secured sizable votes from the Harpanahalli Assembly segment in the last Lok Sabha elections and enjoys the support of all sections. So, it will not be difficult to win. (Harpanahalli was in Bellary Lok Sabha segment, and in the recent delimitation exercise it has been included in Davangere Lok Sabha constituency)

Mr. Ramana Gowda says that he has done a lot of work in the constituency as a zilla panchayat member and though he had left the Congress he still enjoys the support of workers of that party who have been his close followers.

The other candidates in the fray are Hosahalli Ramesh (CPI-M), S.R. Hanumanthappa (Lok Jana Shakti), H.M. Maheshwara Swamy (BSP) and Idli Ramappa (independent).

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