Is Congress veteran Mallikarjun Kharge bracing himself for a fiery contest in Kalburgi in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls? With rebel Congress MLA from Chincholi Dr Umesh Jadhav submitting his resignation to Karnataka Assembly Speaker Ramesh Kumar on Monday morning, Mallikarjun's worst fears have come true.
Ending months of speculation over his crossing over to the BJP, Jadhav—who also identified with the 'rebel' camp led by Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi—met the speaker at his residence two days prior to the BJP rally in Kalburgi (on Wednesday), which will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Insiders hint that Jadhav is likely to join the BJP in the presence of Modi and as state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa has already signalled, he would be contesting against Mallikarjun Kharge in the Kalburgi Lok Sabha constituency on a BJP ticket.
Jadhav, who was facing disqualification under the anti-defection law following a complaint filed by the Congress legislature party leader Siddaramaiah for “skipping” CLP meetings, had turned up for the budget session to evade disqualification. However, the Congress's biggest worry now is the rival camp growing stronger, with Jadhav, too, choosing to quit the party at a crucial time.
Mallikarjun, who has remained undefeated in any election, has won the Gurmitkal and Chitapur (reserved) assembly constituencies eight times. In 2009, Mallikarjun, the sitting MLA from Chitapur, contested the Kalburgi Lok Sabha seat for the first time and won. His son, Priyank Kharge, lost Chitapur in the ensuing bypoll.
Mallikarjun, who served as the Union labour minister, repeated his feat in Kalburgi in 2014. Mallikarjun won with a huge margin of 74,700 votes. This time, Mallikarjun will face stiff competition from Jadhav, as major caste leaders, who once supported him and the Congress, are now in the BJP.
Former ministers and backward class leaders—Malikayya Guttedar (Ediga) from Afzalpur and Baburao Chinchansur (Koli) from Gurmitkal—quit the Congress, upset over Priyank, a first-time MLA, being inducted into the Siddaramaiah cabinet in 2018. Jadhav, who is tipped to be the BJP candidate from Kalburgi (SC reserved) Lok Sabha seat, belongs to the strong Banjara (Lambani) community.
Mallikarjun's dominance and promotion of his son upset senior leaders in the district, who quit the Congress. Like Guttedar, Jadhav openly revolted against district in-charge minister Priyank, alleging “interference” in his constituency. The minister has vehemently denied it time and again.
“Priyank is scuttling development of my constituency to curtail my political growth,” says Jadhav, who also holds Priyank responsible for the recent protests outside his house to condemn “Operation Kamala”.
"Jadhav had every opportunity to air his grievances before the party leadership. But he has quit the party with a definite purpose of contesting the Lok Sabha polls. This move is part of the larger design of the BJP and Modi, who is desperate to win Kalburgi,” said Priyank, while speaking to a private channel.
A visibly upset Karnataka state Congress chief Dinesh Gundurao slammed Jadhav for quitting the party, saying, "He (Jadhav) has no ethics. He got everything from the party, but he chose to quit and join the BJP. We always knew he would.”
Two days ago, when Mallikarjun Kharge was addressing a public gathering at Sedam, he made an emotional appeal to the people. “The people of Kalburgi have elected me in the last 11 elections I contested. This time too, I am confident they will elect me. This will be my last election,” said Mallikarjun. His appeal, however, drew criticism from his detractors, who dubbed it as a bid to garner sympathy votes.
