Karnataka

Congress yet to finalise candidate for Karwar byelection

Karwar: Though most of the political parties have started making preparations for the byelection to the Karwar Assembly constituency, the Congress is yet to finalise its candidate.

The two major political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (S), have finalised their candidates with the BJP fielding Fisheries, Science and Technology Minister Anand Asnotikar and the latter announcing Devidas Goankar as its candidate.

The Janata Dal (S), which fared badly in the last election, was initially reluctant to enter the electoral battle. Its local leaders were expecting a seat-sharing pact with the Congress. However, after the visit of the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy to Karwar a fortnight ago, who received an overwhelming response here, the party decided to field its candidate.

The BJP is hoping to win the seat with a comfortable margin. With its traditional vote bank, the party hopes to get the votes of Asnotikar fans association which is loyal to the Asnotikar family.

However, the Congress seems to be in a state of confusion. For Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president R.V. Deshpande, who hails from Uttara Kannada district, this byelection is a challenge because if he loses in his home district, it would be a political setback to him. The Congress has kept its options open by not declaring its candidate early.

The Karwar Assembly seat was won by the Congress in the last election. Mr. Asnotikar, who was elected on Congress ticket, fell prey to Operation Kamala to switch loyalty to the BJP and resigned from the party and the Assembly.

He joined the BJP to become a Minister. It was a personal setback to Mr. Deshpande who had played a major role in getting ticket to Mr. Asnotikar, despite resistance by party stalwarts, including Margaret Alva, and the local party unit. And, when Mr. Asnotikar left the party, Ms. Alva and the local Congress unit accused Mr. Deshpande of not paying heed to their advice.

Now, Mr. Deshpande has become the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president. In the changed political scenario, he has the tough task of finding a suitable candidate who will match the money and muscle power of Mr. Asnotikar.

Initially, the Congress wanted to field Ganapati Ulvekar, Karwar City Municipal Council president, who contested as an independent candidate and secured the second highest votes after Mr. Asnotikar. He was denied Congress ticket during the last election. Now, he has refused to contest the byelection.

This has left the Congress to narrow down its choice to Satish Sail, a businessman, and Gayatri Gowda, zilla panchayat president.

Mr. Sail has been considered because he can match the money power of Mr. Asnotikar and Ms. Gayatri Gowda on the basis of caste. Ms. Gowda belongs to the Halakki Vokkaliga community which has highest number of voters in the constituency.

The Congress game plan is to counter the BJP by forming a formidable caste combination of Halakkis, other backward communities and minorities. “We will upset the BJP’s applecart,” says Block Congress president Deepak Vaingankar. The challenge ahead of Mr. Deshpande is not easy. The byelection will be a litmus test for Mr. Deshpande’s hold over the district. Will he be able to counter the BJP’s money and muscle power in this byelection? is the question being asked in the constituency.

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