The Bagalkot Lok Sabha constituency has turned out to be an impregnable BJP fort for the Congress.
The grand old party has changed its candidate for every election here since 2004. But it has not been able to break into the saffron bastion.
BJP’s P C Gaddigoudar contested from Bagalkot in 2004 and trounced R S Patil of Congress.
In 2009, J T Patil of the Congress tasted defeat at the hands of Gaddigoudar.
The Siddaramaiah government was in power in 2014 and Congress had five MLAs in the district. However, that did not prevent Gaddigoudar from triumphing against Ajaykumar Sarnaik of the Congress.
The story was no different in 2019. Veena Kashappanavar of Congress was defeated by Gaddigoudar.
This time, the Congress has fielded Samyukta Patil, a lesser-known face and Textiles Minister Shivanand Patil’s daughter.
(Published 28 March 2024, 14:11 IST)
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