Umesh Jadhav challenge to Kharge, a two-pronged strategy for BJP in north K’taka

BENGALURU: After months of speculation, legislator Umesh Jadhav, who won the Chincholi assembly seat on a Congress ticket, officially joined the BJP on Wednesday. His candidature for the Kalaburagi Lok Sabha seat appears a two-pronged strategy: To diminish the hold of Congress leader Mallikarjun M Kharge and also not allow him to dictate campaigning in the adjoining Bidar seat.
While it was an open secret that the popular two-time MLA would contest against Kharge, his candidature will raise concerns for the Congress.Jadhav’s Chincholi gram panchayat falls under Kalaburagi constituency, but the Chincholi MLA constituency is part of the Bidar Lok Sabha seat.
BJP insiders say Jadhav hails from the considerably strong Lambani/Banjara community which has a strong population base in the two parliamentary seats. Fielding an educated community leader is expected to have a cascading effect on both Kalaburagi and Bidar.
“Coupled with this, votes of the Lingayat community, considered a vote bank of the BJP, is likely to increase the chances of the party in these two seats,” said a party worker.
The total number of voters from the two communities is approximately 10 lakhs (8.5 lakh Lingayats and 1.5 lakh Banjara). “If Jadhav presents a strong challenge to Kharge, who is already facing a big anti-incumbency wave, then the Congress leadership will be unable to dedicate attention to Bidar. This will give the BJP a free run in that seat,” said a Sangh Parivar functionary.
However, Congress insiders say any strategy against Kharge will backfire. With plenty of goodwill invested among Dalits (Right) and dissidence among the local BJP cadre against Jadhav, Kharge is said to be on safe ground.
Kharge has never lost any of his last 12 elections (9 times as MLA and 2 times as MP) in the past 50 years, which has earned him the Kannada sobriquet “solillada sardara” (the leader who cannot be defeated).
Party leaders, including Kharge’s son Priyank Kharge, say the former Union labour minister has always faced a Lambani candidate. “He has emerged victorious every time. However, Jadhav’s candidature seems to be much stronger opposition than previous ones,” said a Congress leader.
Priyank, who has already begun campaigning for his father, states there have been persistent efforts by the BJP to dislodge his father but none have succeeded. “There is a long list of strong contenders who have fought against my father, including Revu Naik Belmagi, who was far more experienced and a stronger contender than Jadhav,” Priyank said. “Even he could not defeat my father when the Modi wave was at its heights in 2014. While we are not taking the election for granted, Jadhav’s candidature is not a serious concern for us.”