Despite Nirani, BJP finds Bagalkot a tough terrain

Dyamanna, 40, an agricultural labourer in industries minister Murugesh Nirani’s Bilagi constituency in Bagalkot district, stands at the town square, finishing a cup of tea. We ask him who he would vote for, and his immediate reaction is that all parties are the same and he would take a decision closer to the election date. We probe a little, and he says Nirani has done some good work on roads and education, but his own condition has not improved much. There is the same level of uncertainty in most other places — suggesting that the BJP is unlikely to sweep the district’s seven constituencies as it did in 2008, or get a six-out-of-seven record as in 2004. Observers think Nirani will go through, and maybe even BJP’s sitting MLA in Bagalkot city, Veeranna Charantimath. But in most constituencies, it could be touch and go, with the Congress seen to have a good chance in Badami, Mudhol, Hungund and Terdal. Charantimath, who’s won two terms, had to see through the rehabilitation of villagers whose lands were likely to be submerged by raising the height of the Almatti dam. Bagalkot has an old city and a new city, the latter assigned for rehabilitation and where government offices have shifted. It’s better planned, but private residents are still to move in. B S Sankannavar, a petrol station manager, says Charantimath is a good worker. But like many others, he too thinks Charantimath has become arrogant.Charantimath is a smallbuilt, straight-talking, confidentlooking man, dressed neatly in a white kurta-pajama . He brushes off the ‘arrogance’ charge, saying his rivals could not come up with anything against his work. He downplays sections of the RSS deserting him. “The Parivar people are working for me. A small section was against me, they’ve joined the Congress,” he says.He also seems keen to industrialize Bagalkot, which has a strong cement industry presence . He talks of establishing steel and solar energy projects. One lesson he seems to have learnt is not to forcefully acquire land from farmers. There were attempts to do that for the Surya steel project, which was abandoned on account of farmer protests. “Farmers expect high prices for land. Let industry talk directly with them, we won't do anything to force acquisition,” he says.Nirani’s constituency, too, has seen significant improvement in irrigated area, roads, drinking water, educational institutions . “I’ve done so much work I’ll come back to power 100%,” Nirani says.But such work is clearly not visible to all, nor is it what some are looking for. Nagavva, 60, who runs a little stall in Bilagi’s main junction, says sarcastically, “A road is not eatable.” Mahadevi, 45, who runs a tea stall, says she has no ration card, it’s been three years since her husband died and she’s waiting for widow pension. Nirani’s development works are yet to impact everybody’s lives.