After the hectic campaigning, and polling ended on Tuesday, there is curiosity and speculation among voters about which candidate will taste victory in Vijayapura district.
The primary reason for the curiosity among voters is the unexpected entry of the Janata Dal(S) candidate in the fray and the swing of votes, mainly of the Chalavadi sect of Dalit community which was unhappy as no candidate from the community got ticket for the third time after the district was reserved for Scheduled Castes.
The district recorded 61 % voting which is just over 2 % higher than that of the 2014 elections. Since there was no substantial change in the voting percentage, supporters of the BJP and the Janata Dal(S) are claiming that they have secured more votes than the other.
After the Janata Dal(S) decided to keep Vijayapura Lok Sabha Constituency as per the seat-sharing exercise with its coalition partner, the Congress, discontent was palpable among Congress leaders who wanted to retain the seat for themselves.
Though in public Congress leaders were trying to put up a united face with the Janata Dal(S) leaders, their disappointment still existed.
The Janata Dal(S) not only had to face the disappointment of the Congress leaders but also the anguish of the Chalavadi sect as it announced ticket to Sunita Chavan, wife of its MLA Devanand Chavan who is from the Banjara community.
Having not secured ticket in the last three Lok Sabha polls, the Chalavadis reportedly decided to vote for the BJP whose candidate is Ramesh Jigajinagi, who, though a Dalit, belongs to the Madiga sect.
Meanwhile, the Chalavadi leaders, according to sources, decided to vote for a person from their own community over a Banjara candidate. This claim is also being made by BJP leaders.
However, this claim is being refuted by the Congress and the Janata Dal(S) leaders who said that they succeeded in convincing Chalavadi leaders to vote for the Janata Dal(S) candidate. The Congress reportedly offered a suitable position to a leader from the Chalavadi community.
Reports have also emerged that Panchamsali votes were divided among both the parties as BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, the bete noire of Mr. Jigajinagi, reportedly instructed his followers, mainly of the Panchamsali community, to vote against Mr. Jigajinagi.
Among Muslims, it is learnt that a good number of people did not cast their votes as they support the Congress over the Janata Dal(S). Since the Congress was not contesting in the elections, many chose to stay home instead of voting.
