Tickets aspirants throng JD(S) Dharwad

NT Correspondent

Dharwad: Ticket aspirants for the upcoming Ass embly ele c t ion s have been lining up to join the JD(S) in Dharwad district with the knowledge that there is a leadership vacuum in the party in north Karnataka.

Former MLA NH Konaraddi, who had lost to BJP’s Shankar Patil Munenkoppa by more than 20,000 votes in Navalgund segment back in the 2018 Assembly elections, left the JD(S) and may contest on a Congress ticket this time around. Another key figure Basavaraj Horratti went on to join the BJP and is now the Chairman of the Legislative Council.

Matters became so dire for the JD(S) that back in August and September of 2021 that the party was not even able to find suitable candidates for all 82 wards in the Hubballi-Dharwad Municipal Corporation (HDMC) election. Moreover, the Opposition party, whose inf luence is mostly confined to the Old Mysuru region where the Vokkaligas are concentrated, has found it difficult to gather and keep a cadre base.

On Thursday, former JD(S) workers from Dharwad district joined the Congress in presence of Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly. This is a far cry from the party’s glory days when it was home to popular north Karnataka leaders like Belagavi district’s late Umesh Katti.

‘34 hopefuls for 7 seats’ JD(S) Dharwad president Gururaj Hunasi ma rad said that they had 34 applicants lined up for just seven Assembly constituencies in Dharwad district. Hunasimarad is himself a hopeful for the HubballiDharwad West segment.

The good response to the Pancharatna Rath Yatra led by two-time Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy is also seen as a reason for ticket aspirants queuing up to join the party. Although most of these hopefuls remain anonymous, it includes veteran Kannada broadcast journalist Mustafa Kunnibhavi, who joined JD(S) in the presence of Kumaraswamy in Navalgund town recently.

Meanwhile, the party top brass is in wait-andwatch mode as the aspirants include Congress a nd BJP leaders who believe they may not get tickets in their current parties. JD(S) district leadership on the other hand hopes that party workers will be favoured over those jumping ship.

The party has already released the first list of 93 candidates, which includes incumbent MLAs and those that finished second in the last elections. The names of party candidates from several districts, including Dharwad, are yet to be declared.