As the stage is set for electing new members to 5,844 gram panchayats in the State, both the ruling Congress and the principal Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, as also the Janata Dal (Secular) have geared up to establish their political hegemony, thanks to the Panchayat Raj Act which ensures that the elections are apolitical and party symbols are not allotted to the contestants.
Belagavi being the second largest district after Bengaluru in Karnataka, the stakes are high for the Congress and the BJP. The BJP is in an upbeat mood owing to the substantial increase in the number of people who have enrolled into the party during the membership drive in the last six months. BJP Belagavi (Rural) district president Eranna Kadadi said around 8 lakh people joined the party as ordinary members, including 4,13,900 in Belagavi Rural district, excluding Belagavi city, and over 3 lakh in Chikkodi Rural district.
However, it is common knowledge that a majority of the contestants are either members or supporters of political parties. Given that all parties look forward to strengthening their support base at the grassroots, the importance of gram panchayats, the last in the three-tier Panchayati Raj system, gains credence for the fact that the same voters also exercise their franchise in the elections to the taluk panchayats, zilla panchayats, the Legislative Assembly and the Lok Sabha. Because of this, all political parties, their MLAs, MPs, are actively involved in the GP elections.
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The BJP, according to its State President Pralhad Joshi, MP, has formed an 80-member team of senior and young leaders to ensure the victory of the contestants who are either its members or supporters. Legislators, MPs, and leaders of the Congress too have started working on similar lines.