You'll fall like Ramakrishna Hegde in North Karnataka: HK Patil warns BSY

Belagavi: While the battle for North Karnataka is clearly on with the state chiefs of both the BJP and Janata Dal (S), B S Yeddyurappa and H D Kumaraswamy, seriously considering contesting the 2018 assembly polls from constituencies in the region, Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister, H K Patil, on Tuesday dismissed their chances of winning over the voters here.

Speaking to reporters here, Mr Patil, who hails from North Karnataka, contended that neither Mr Kumaraswamy's nor Mr Yeddyurappa's brand of politics would appeal to the innocent and selfless people of the region. Recalling that even former Chief Minister, the late Ramakrishna Hegde, had failed to win from Bagalkot in the past, he said , ''When a leader of Hegde's stature could not win from North Karnataka, how can the likes of Yeddyurappa and Kumaraswamy win from here? Both are nothing compared to him."

Maintaining that the politics of North-Karnataka was different from the rest of the state, he said its people would teach a fitting lesson to outsiders, who tried to contest elections from it.

Both the BJP and JD(S) have in recent months been focusing on the voters of North Karnataka, with Mr Kumaraswamy even renting a house here to strengthen his party's base in the region. The JD(S) has in the past concentrated mainly on the Vokkaliga belt of the state, leading to discontent among its North Karnataka leaders, who felt neglected.

Meanwhile, referring to the Goa government's eviction of Kannadigas in Vasco, Mr Patil said it was the Centre's responsibility to protect their interests. "All legislators and MPs of the state irrespective of their party affiliations should put pressure on the Centre to prevent atrocities on Goa's Kannadigas," he added.