Congress eyes 13 to 20 Lok Sabha seats in state

Maqsood Maniyar | NT Bureau

Bengaluru: Congress’ internal surveys forecast the party winning at least 13 to 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka and victory in 18 to 20 constituencies as the best case scenario.

The Grand Old Party is optimistic that lingering pro-Congress sentiment from last year’s Assembly polls and the good will afforded to them by the five guarantees will see them secure a good tally. The internal surveys take into account every Assembly segment.

Up north, Congress workers believe that they are in a good position to wrest Chikkodi from BJP’s sitting MP Annasaheb Jolle. Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi’s daughter Priyanka contested from the seat on a Congress ticket.

The other Lok Sabha seat in the district, Belagavi is a closer contest but Congressmen believe they have done enough to secure a win, despite the seat being a saffron party stronghold.

In the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the Grand Old Party senses that party man and Sandur MLA E Tukaram stood a chance at being a giant-killer against BJP bigwig and fellow Valmiki B Sriramulu in Ballari.

However, workers felt disappointed by the low 62.25 per cent voter turn-out in Kalaburagi. Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani took on BJP’s sitting MP Umesh Jadhav, who was being weighed down by antiincumbency.

The central Karnataka region witnessed close contests but Congressmen believe they have the edge in Davangere.

The district is home to a rivalry between two Veerashaiva-Lingayat families, who were represented by women this time around. Congresswoman Dr Prabha Mallikarjun, the wife of Minister for Horticulture, Mines and Geology SS Mallikarjun, took on BJP’s Gayathri Siddeshwara, the wife of sitting MP GM Siddeshwara.

In Chikkaballapura, they are optimistic that Rakhsa Ramaiah, the son of former minister MR Seetharam may be able to upset saffron party candidate K Sudhakar, whom the Congress branded “scam-tainted” during the campaign.

They were referring to accusations against him in the “Corona Scam”. Party workers are also upbeat about their performance in neighbouring Kolar where Congressman KV Gowtham took on JD(S) candidate Mallesh Babu.

Mahadevappa son to become MP?

In the Old Mysuru region, the party feels good about their ability to snag Chamarajanagara where their candidate Sunil Bose, the son of Social Welfare Minister HC Mahadevappa, took on BJP man S Balaraj, who is not a well-known face.

The saffron party sidelining their ailing sitting MP Vinay Srinivas did not go down well with his supporters.

The MP died not long after polling in his seat. The Grand Old Party also got positive inputs from DK Suresh’s stronghold Bangalore Rural and Bangalore Central where Mansoor Khan took on BJP incumbent PC Mohan.

BJP may retain bastions

However, Congress has tempered its expectations in some saffron party strongholds such as Bangalore South where Tejasvi Surya appears to be sitting pretty.

However, Congresswoman Sowmya Reddy put up a valiant fight in the seat. Dakshina Kannada may stick with BJP where newcomer Brijesh Chowta is expected to defeat Congressman R Padmaraj.