Hubballi: The Congress reportedly plans to cash in on the sympathy factor and field Kusuma, wife of the late minister, C S Shivalli, for the May 19 Kundgol Assembly bypoll.
Ms Kusuma is said to have agreed to contest the bypoll and has begun preparing for it on the direction of former CM Siddaramaiah. Mr Shivalli had won the last Assembly poll from the constituency by only 634 votes against Mr S I Chikkanagoudra of the BJP, who is likely to be fielded by the party once again this bypoll. Although the saffron party had lost by a slender margin, it may have a challenge on its hands this time in the face of the Congress-JD(S) alliance as Ms Kusuma will now enjoy the support of JD(S) leaders, M S Akki and Hazarath Ali Jodamani, who had won around 14,000 votes in the last election, contesting on JD(S) and JD(U) tickets respectively.
The Kurubas, who are the second most populous community in the constituency after the Lingayats, are also expected to support her as Mr Shivalli belonged to the community. With Kuruba strongman, Siddaramaiah too campaigning for her, it is believed she stands a good chance of receiving a good chunk of the community's votes. “The majority of Kurubas in the constituency are Congress supporters. And the tremendous development work done by Shivalli both as minister and legislator will work in the party's favour, besides the sympathy wave for Kusuma Shivalli," said Kundagol taluk Congress president, Jagadish Uppin. To the BJP's disadvantage it is riddled with internal bickering in Kundagol with its probable candidate, Chikkangoudra at loggerheads with another ticket aspirant, M R Patil. Moreover, he has aired his suspicions about a conspiracy by local party leaders to defeat him and his daughter and supporters have launched a Facebook campaign, "Joshi hatao, BJP bachao" against Dharwad MP, Pralhad Joshi for allegedly protecting these men.
