Decoding the Hangal defeat: Snub to Udasi family trigger

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT
Bengaluru, Nov. 2

Overconfidence, the neglect of  senior leaders, sidelining of the Udasi family and lack of coordination could be considered the reasons for the defeat of BJP candidate, Shivaraj Sajjanar in Hangal constituency.

A BJP leader on the condition of anonymity told News Trail that a majority of leaders had favored giving the ticket to Revathi Udasi, wife of Haveri-Gadag BJP MP Shivakumar Udasi, in the core committee meeting after the declaration of by-poll dates. Instead of heeding their suggestion, the ticket was given to Sajjanar who had absolutely no support base in Hangal. The BJP could have given a tough fight to Congress candidate, Srinivasa Mane, who had unsuccessfully contested against BJP’s C.M. Udasi in the 2018 Assembly polls, if the ticket had been given to Revathi Udasi as they could have played the ‘sympathy card’.

From the beginning, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai reportedly neglected the old guard of the BJP in north Karnataka and they were not consulted at all during the polls. Those leaders campaigned just for names-sake without putting their heart and soul fully into the campaign. The voting pattern also clearly indicated that Panchamasali and other sub-sects of the powerful Lingayat community voted against the BJP for not giving the ticket to the Udasi family. Even the Panchamsali seer had indicated his unhappiness over not giving the ticket to the Udasi family soon after Sajjanar, a ganiga, was made the BJP candidate. But the CM did not take the seer’s statement seriously.

While Congress leaders worked as a team, the BJP failed to put up a united show due to alleged infighting. The CM  appointed Large & Medium Scale Industries Minister Murgesh Nirani as in-charge of Hangal constituency. But the minister instead of camping in the constituency, spent most of his time in Bengaluru and Dubai in connection with his ministry’s affairs. And Agriculture Minister B.C.Patil did not show any interest in the campaign after Nirani was  made Hangal in-charge, the leader opined.

Half-hearted approach
The leader said even former CM & Lingayat leader, B.S.Yediyurappa campaigned half-heartedly following the ‘humiliating treatment’ meted out to him by the high command. On Bommai’s request, he campaigned for two days alone and with the CM for a day but even his appeal to voters did not have the desired effect as the electorate chose to vote for the Congress nominee.

Lost touch
Former MLA late Udasi’s absence from the constituency for nearly a year, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, came as a blessing in disguise for Srinivasa Mane to get closer to voters by  distributing grocery kits, medicine and by providing financial assistance to Corona patients. This gesture came in handy for the Congress candidate to romp home. The then Yediyurappa government failed to respond to the travails of the affected population, said sources.

Another BJP leader opined that the biggest mistake made by the CM was deputing Bengaluru-based ministers like Byrati Basavaraj, Muniratna, V.Somanna and Dr C.N.Ashwath Narayana to the constituency who had no connection with local voters. 

The Hangal fight would have been close if Bommai had taken local BJP leaders into confidence. The BJP workers did not work fully for Sajjanar as they considered him an ‘outsider,’ added the sources.