It is a proxy war between Lad and Reddy in mineral-rich Sandur

Sandur byelection heats up as Congress and BJP battle for supremacy in Congress stronghold with Valmiki community divide.

While winter descends to chill the mineral-rich hills and rain-fed plains of Sandur in Ballari district, the heat of campaign by political parties for the November 13 byelection too is catching up here.

The byelection for Sandur, necessitated by the resignation of its incumbent representative E. Tukaram of the Congress, who successfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Ballari, has become a matter of prestige for both the ruling Congress and the Opposition BJP. The fight is between Mr. Tukaram’s wife, E. Annapurna, and the BJP’s Bangaru Hanumantha, president of the ST Morcha of the party in Karnataka.

Sandur has been a Congress stronghold since the first Assembly elections held in 1957 when H. Rayana Gouda won. Of the 16 elections held in the constituency since, including a byelection, the Congress has won 14. Janata Party candidate U. Bhupathi and Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Santosh Lad won in 1985 and 2004, respectively.

Mr. Lad, now with the Congress, is leading the campaign for the party. On the BJP’s side, mining baron Gali Janardhana Reddy, who was until recently barred from entering into Ballari on account of illegal mining cases, is leading the campaign with great gusto. He got relief from the Supreme Court just ahead of byelection and it has turned out to be an opportunity for him to prove his strength and regain his lost supremacy in the district.

The byelection in Sandur is thus a proxy battle between Mr. Lad and Mr. Reddy. In fact, Mr. Reddy’s entry into the campaign scene has turned the fight, which initially appeared to be a cakewalk for the Congress, more fluid and uncertain.

In the Sandur segment, reserved for the Scheduled Tribes, the Valmiki (Beda/Naik) community is numerically powerful, with an approximate voter size of 65,000, followed by the Scheduled Castes (SCs) with around 40,000 voters, Lingayats – 35,000 voters, Kurubas – 30,000 voters, and Muslims with around 15,000 voters.

Since both candidates are from the Valmiki community, the community votes are expected to get divided. As per the caste calculations of both parties, while the Congress has better influence among the SCs, Kurubas, and Muslims, the BJP holds sway over the Lingayats.