Clash of egos, race for supremacy in Belagavi district’s ground zero

Athani assembly constituency is in focus in these Karnataka elections because the main actors have taken it as a personal battle given that their egos and very relevance in Belagavi district politics are at stake.
The elections in Belagavi in general are considered significant as the district has 18 assembly seats, the second highest after Bengaluru Urban’s 28.
But Athani stands out this time, thanks to the passionate fight that often tends to descend into a bitter war of words between BJP’s Ramesh Jarkiholi and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, who is contesting on a Congress ticket after defecting from the saffron party.
Although BJP’s Mahesh Kumathalli is seeking re-election for a third time, the fight is a proxy battle between Savadi and Ramesh. Their slanging match had hit such acerbic levels that former chief minister BS Yediyurappa had to step in and advise Ramesh to pipe down. Ramesh is one of five Jarkiholi brothers, whose growing dominance is changing the political landscape in the district.
“Both have scores to settle politically as both see each other’s hand in the setbacks they suffered in the wake of upheavals that followed the installation of the BJP government in 2019. Also, it is a warfor supremacy in the district,” said Ashok Chandragi, noted social activist in Belagavi.
Between the two, Basavaraj Bhimappa Bisanakoppa, a former police inspector, has emerged as an X-factor. Bisanakoppa also has an axe to grind — against Savadi — as the former deputy CM, as an MLA, had allegedly got himsuspended in 2015 when he was serving as an inspector in Athani. He is contesting as the candidate of G Janardhan Reddy’s Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha (KRPP).
Ramesh and Savadi are seeking to gain control over lucrative sectors like cooperatives including the district central cooperative bankwhich has about 100 branches across the district, the primary land development bank and sugar manufacturing industry which has 26 factories including 17 private and nine cooperative units.
There is a leadership void in the district dominated by Lingayats after the demise of community leaders like Suresh Angadi, Umesh Katti and Anand Mamani and the likes of Prabhakar Kore being relegated to the margins. Savadi, a Lingayat, is hoping to emerge the community leader, while Ramesh is trying to establish his sway over the district through consolidation of votes of his ST communities, apart from gaining support of the dominant Panchamasali Lingayats.
“Ramesh may have once been successful in getting me defeated. But this time he will bite the dust,” said Savadi, referring to the 2018 polls when he had contested as the BJP candidate seeking re-election for the fourth time and Kumathalli, then with Congress, defeated him by 2,331 votes. Savadi attributed that loss to his “being overconfident.”
Even in 2018, Ramesh had fought for his confidant Kumathalli, who openly admits that it was actually his mentor’s win and that Ramesh had devoted more time campaigning in Athani than his own constituency Gokak.
“I didn’t want to contest the 2018 polls as I had lost in 2013. Rameshanna made me contest and win. Now also it is his war,” said Kumathalli. But much has changed since 2018 as Ramesh engineered the fall of JD(S)-Congress coalition government and the installation of BJP government in 2019 by getting 17 MLAs defect to the saffron party. Kumathalli, who followed Ramesh, won the bypolls as the BJP candidate and Savadi was forced to work for his victory. Meanwhile, Ramesh had to step down as minister owing to a purported sex CD in March 2021. Savadi lost his cabinet berth after Basavaraj Bommai took over as CM in July 2021.
While Savadi aspired to be the BJP candidate, Ramesh again came in his way and ensured Kumathalli got the ticket. This prompted Savadi to quit and join Congress.
Caste will play a huge role. A Panchamasali Lingayat, Kumathalli is confident of winning as his community accounts for about 40% of the 70,000 Lingayat voters. Savadi is a Ganiga Lingayat, a community that has much fewer votes. But Savadi is looking to gain from the perceived angst of Panchamasalis against BJP in the wake of the muddle over 2A category reservation and he also hopes to garner the support of Congress votebanks like Muslims and OBCs, who together account for about 20% of the electorate.
Shashikantha Padasalagi of JD(S) is among 13 candidates in the fray and Savadi is hoping for a split in Panchamasali votes as KRPP’s Bisanakoppa and Padasalagi are from the community.