Scramble for ticket in Huttur

Huttur is a place where one would find the effects of election much more intense than in anywhere else in the district.

Huttur, which belongs to Bangarpet legislative constituency, is generally considered a politically sensitive area in the district. This time too people are keeping a close watch on the ongoings in Huttur. Predominant members of various parties are lobbying fiercely for a ticket in the area.

Equal chance

All parties- Congress, BJP, JD(S) and CPM- have an almost equal chance of winning the seat.

The Janavadi Mahila Sanghatane and the CPM had organised protests last year in relation to the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Activists and supporters of both organisations are prominent in the area and this will be a deciding factor in the outcome of the polls.

Although the CPM has already begun the process of giving tickets to candidates, the party might take a backstance in response to requests from leaders of major parties. The party is challenging the BJP and the Congress, but would possibly join hands with the JD(S) for the coming panchayat elections.

Rolling the dice

R Dayanand had been the sole contestant in the area from the JD(S) until Srinivasa Gowda joined the party.

Now, however, he has to fight Dr Harish, often called a student of Venkatagiriyappa. A Leftist by principle, Dr Harish worked as a senior activist in the Janata Parivar, participated in several movements and has even been jailed.

A third contestant, E Gopal, however, changed his stand on learning that Dayanand would be contesting from the region. He now prefers a ticket for Marjenahalli taluk panchayat constituency.

Dayanand, however, claimed on the eleventh hour that he would ‘still serve regardless of who is given the ticket’.

Since Dayanand is said to be close to both Dr Harish and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy, people are now curious to see who would be given the ticket between the two JD(S) members.

Confused

Vadagur Nagaraj, Urubagilu Srinivas, Abbani Nagaraj are the primary contenders from the BJP. However, it is said that the RSS is apprehensive of the party winning the seat if Vadagur Nagaraj were to be given a ticket, as he has a criminal background to him.

There are also efforts to gauge the calibre as well as expectations of Urubagilu Srinivas, who is yet feel like a member of the BJP ever since he moved from the Congress.

Abbani Nagaraj is making serious efforts to ensure himself a ticket for the constituency.

Agreeing and preventing

In the Congress, Aralli Gopalakrishna, Vadagur Ramu and Holali Prakash are competing hard to get a ticket.

Sources say that Prakash is confident of getting the ticket and therefore is requesting the CPM leaders to ensure that he has no competition from the party. This is especially so since he had participated actively in the various protests and bunds organised last year for proper power supply.

The CPM, however, is planning to let V Geetha of the Janavadi Mahila Sanghatane into the ring. If they do so, votes in the area would be distinctly divided.

Therefore, most parties are attempting to join hands with the CPM in order to gather the votes in the area.

Apparently, there are also agreements with the JD(S) not to enter any of its candidates in Shapur taluk panchayat constituency, in case an alliance is drawn with the party.

Decisions on the matter, however, are yet to be made public.

The JD(S) has very quickly resolved the matter of lack of proper leadership in the area. Now, there are as many as three leaders here.

District unit president and Srinivaspur legislator G K Venkatashiva Reddy and former minister Alangur Srinivas are now joined by former minister K Srinivasa Gowda.

The three leaders are jointly selecting the candidate, planning election strategy and even solving differences of opinion, much to the astonishment of the party members.

At the JD(S) meeting organised on Sunday in Mutuvadi, Venkatashiva Reddy and Srinivasa Gowda were united in their opinion about campaigning for S B Munivenkatappa as the JD(S) candidate for Holur Zilla Panchayat constituency.