Congress faces caste conundrum in Bagalkot

BAGALKOT: The Congress high command may be considering IT/BT minister S R Patil for the Bagalkot Lok Sabha seat. But two other aspirants and caste equations have made the task difficult for the party. For, the choice of candidate largely hinges on who is picked for the adjoining Koppal parliamentary seat
The aspirants include former MP Ajaykumar Sarnaik, who has returned to the Congress, and Dr Devaraj Patil, a young pediatrician whose name was initially announced for Badami assembly constituency in the 2013 polls but later gave way to B B Chimanakatti, current MLA.The tussle for the ticket is between a Reddy as Sarnaik belongs to that community and Devaraj Patil, a Kuruba. Then there is the crucial Koppal factor.
Minister Patil is a Lingayat and is being backed by cabinet colleague Umashree, who won from Terdal, an assembly segment of Bagalkot. Chimanakatti is supporting Devaraj Patil.
Bagalkot Lok Sabha constituency had been a Congress bastion till 1991 before it lost to the BJP. However, in the assembly elections, the Congress won seven of the eight assembly segments. The BJP has cleared the name of sitting MP P C Gaddigoudar.
Meanwhile, local party workers in Koppal are pressing for a ticket to a person belonging to the upper caste. Their contention is that since Bidar, Gulbarga and Raichur constituencies in Hyderabad-Karnatak region are under the reserved category, Koppal ticket should go to an upper caste candidate. Former MLA Amaregouda Bayyapur (Reddy) is the frontrunner in Koppal.
If Bayyapur gets the ticket, the Congress will have to consider an OBC for Bagalkot and Devaraj Patil will have a chance. According to sources, Congress plans to field three Kurubas from the state. While H Vishwanath from Mysore has been finalized, the options are to field two more from Chikkodi, Koppal or Dharwad.