Belagavi's 18 seats witness tough contest between Cong & BJP; MES may play spoilsport in few
Belagavi (PTI): Belagavi district with second highest number of assembly seats after Bengaluru Urban -- is expected to witness tough contest between the BJP and Congress as Lingayat politics surmounts the local issues, but the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) could play spoilsport in a few seats as it wants to keep the border issue alive.
There are 18 assembly constituencies in the border district which is a Lingayat stronghold and has been a BJP bastion in the last two decades.
As in the last three elections, it is likely to be a straight contest between the BJP and Congress in most of the assembly seats barring five where the Shiv Sena-NCP supported MES -- a vocal proponent of the inclusion of Belagavi and other Marathi-speaking areas in Maharashtra -- has fielded local candidates.
The leadership vacuum in the Lingayat community after sidelining of stalwart leader B S Yediyurappa, demise of some prominent local Lingayat BJP leaders like Suresh Angadi and Umesh Katti and rising clout of politically influencial Jarkiholi family belonging to scheduled tribes community -- are expected to resonate among voters.
The exit of many disgruntled BJP leaders including three-time MLA and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi from Belagavi, over denial of the ticket for the upcoming assembly election -- is likely to dent some votes here.
On the other hand, MES is trying hard to keep the border issue alive in Belagavi, which was part of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency and constitutes nearly 40 per cent Marathi-speaking population. The triangular fight could dent votes of national parties in five Marathi-speaking dominated constituencies.
Five of the constituencies in the district are dominated by Marathas, while Lingayats form a majority in most of the 13 remaining constituencies. There is a sizable population of OBCs and SCs/STs as well, with two seats reserved for these groups in the district.
In the district, where many elected representatives are sugar barons, three powerful political families -- the Jharkiholis, the Jolles and the Khattis -- enjoy electoral dominance.
From the Jharkiholi family, Ramesh Jarkiholi and Balachandra Jarkiholi are contesting on a BJP ticket from Gokak and Arabhavi assembly constituencies, respectively. Another member of the family, Satish Jarkihol is contesting on a Congress ticket from theYemkanmardi seat.
The Jarkiholi brothers are known to change parties. Ramesh Jarkiholi was a minister in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government before joining the BJP ranks. He was among the 17 MLAs who defected from the Congress and helped BJP to topple the Congress-JDS coalition government in 2019.
Ramesh's clout in the district is hard to ignore as he has ensured BJP ticket to his followers who defected from Congress, which has upset the traditional party leaders especially his political rival Laxman Savadi
Another prominent family are Jolles represented by the incumbent Muzrai (Religious and Charitable Endowments) minister Shashikala Jolle who is contesting on BJP ticket from Nippani constituency. Her husband Anna Saheb Jolle is the BJP Lok Sabha member from Chikkodi in Belagavi district.
From the Khatti family, Ramesh Khatti -- who represented the Chikkodi parliamentary constituency from 2009-2014 -- is contesting on a BJP ticket from the Chikkodi-Sadalga MLA seat this time, while his nephew Nikil Katti from Hukkeri assembly constituency after untimely demise of his father Umesh Khatti, who was an eight time MLA and six time minister.
After quitting BJP over denial of a ticket, Laxman Savadi is contesting on a Congress ticket from the Athani assembly seat to avenge his humiliation from the saffron party, especially Ramesh Jarkiholi. He has to face Mahesh Kumathalli, then in the Congress, now the BJP nominee
Ramesh has differences with some Congress leaders like Laxmi Hebbalkar who is contesting from Belagavi Rural seat. Both of them are contesting from different constituencies but are trying hard to defeat each other to settle personal grudges.
There are 39.01 lakh voters in the 18 assembly constituencies of Belagavi district. Out of which, 19,68,928 are male voters, 19,32,576 women and 141 registered as Others, as per the official data.
In the 2018 polls, the BJP won 10 and Congress 8 seats, which changed after the defections in 2019. Three Congress MLAs Ramesh Jarkiholi (Gokak), Mahesh Kumathalli (Athani) and Shrimanth Patil (Kagwad) resigned and joined the BJP.
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Assam mining tragedy: Bodies of 3 more labourers trapped in coal quarry recovered
Guwahati, Jan 11: The bodies of three workers, who were trapped inside a coal mine in Assam's Dima Hasao district, were recovered on Saturday from the quarry during rescue operations, an official said.
Four bodies have so far been recovered with the first one taken out from the mine on Wednesday, he said.
The four deceased labourers were among the nine workers trapped inside the mine in Umrangsu on Monday after a sudden gush of water flooded the quarry.
"The rescue operations resumed this morning and three bodies were recovered as the search for trapped miners entered its sixth day. The body of one labourer, hailing from Nepal, was recovered on January 8," the official said.
One of the three labourers whose bodies were recovered from the mine during the day was identified as 27-year-old Ligen Magar, a resident of village number 1 of Kalamati in Dima Hasao, he said.
The identification of two other bodies is underway, the district official said.
Magar's body was found floating on accumulated water in the mine after the army and National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) divers went to bring out the worker, the official said.
"Another body was recovered from the Umrangsu mine a short while ago, marking the third recovery so far. The identification process is currently underway”, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
He said the rescue operations have been continuing with "unwavering resolve".
"Rescue efforts in Umrangsu continue with unwavering resolve. Tragically, another body was recovered this morning...," the chief minister posted on the microblogging site earlier in the day.
''Our hearts go out to the grieving, as we hold on to hope and strength in this difficult time," he added.
Dewatering of the quarry, which is 340 feet deep, was continuing with specialised machines brought in by ONGC and Coal India, the official said.
The chief minister had claimed that the mine was abandoned 12 years ago and was under the Assam Mineral Development Corporation till three years ago.
''It was not an illegal mine but an abandoned one. The workers had entered the mine that day for the first time to extract coal," Sarma said on Friday night.
He said that the leader of the workers has been arrested and the police are conducting investigations into the case.
Speaking on the ongoing rescue operations, Sarma said that dewatering has been continuing since Thursday and so far, 7 metres of water have been pumped out.
''There was water up to 26 metres across four wells. If water is cleared from the wells, we can expect some results'', he said.
Another machine has been brought in from Nagpur and would be operated from Saturday morning, Sarma said, adding that if it functions according to plans, it is expected that the water would be cleared by evening.
On the alleged involvement of a family member of Dima Hasao Autonomous Council's Chief Executive Member Debolal Gorlosa in the incident, the chief minister said, ''This is a human tragedy and we should not politicise it".
