Ending speculation, the Janata Dal(S) finally announced its candidate for the Vijayapura Lok Sabha seat where the party has given ticket to Sunita Chavan, wife of Devanand Chavan, Janata Dal(S) MLA from Nagathan constituency. Under the seat sharing agreement, the Janata Dal(S) has been given Vijayapura seat by the Congress. However, the party was struggling to find a suitable candidate to be fielded against BJP MP and veteran leader Ramesh Jigajinagi. With the party struggling for a candidate all this while, only two names were making the rounds, one, Sunita Chavan, and the other, Ravi Chavan, Mr. Devanand Chavan’s brother.
The selection of Ms. Sunita Chavan is seen as a desperate attempt on the part of the Janata Dal(S) to field any candidate despite the fact that Ms. Sunita Chavan is a political novice. She is not a politically or socially active leader.
Interestingly, she is now the second woman candidate in the State after Veena Kashappanavar of the Congress who has been fielded in Bagalkot district. Ms. Veena Kashappanavar is the wife of the former MLA Vijayananda Kashappanavar.
The twin districts, Vijayapura and Bagalkot, for the first time in the history have women candidates contesting in Lok Sabha polls. Now, with the Janata Dal(S) deciding to offer ticket to Ms. Sunita Chavan, the Congress leaders will have more responsibility to ensure her victory as the party has three MLAs, two of whom are Ministers in the coalition government. Amid all this, the hope of the local Congress leaders seems to have been dashed as the party failed to retain the seat despite having three MLAs and two influential Ministers in M.B. Patil and Shivanand Patil. It may be noted that on more than one occasion, Mr. M. B. Patil had made it clear that since the Congress has a strong base in the district, in no case it will leave seat to the Janata Dal(S).
But now, the same leaders have no choice but to campaign for the Janata Dal(S) candidate.
