The Big Battle – Angadi – Jarkhiholi – Shelke

Bye-election to the Belagavi Parliamentary constituency, to be held on April 17, was necessitated by the death of Suresh C. Angadi, the former Union Minister of State for Railways.

This is only the 2nd time that a bye-election for the Loksabha is being held the first being after the death of Shri Datar.

This time around there has been a THIRD factor which the leading two political parties BJP and the INC would deny on the front but they too are worried about the MES candidate Shubham Shelke.
Shubham was 25 when he contested the first election and had got a meager 670 votes as there were many other Marathi candidates who were also contesting.

According to a story by the New Indian Express, The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samithi (MES) could decide the fate of BJP, and Congress said, experts. When the BJP announced Mangala, wife of late Minister of State for Railways Suresh Angadi, as the candidate, it was sure of victory. But the poll became more competitive when Congress put Yamkanmardi MLA Satish Jarkiholi in the fray.

Though the fight seems to be between these two high-profile candidates, MES has fielded Shubham Shelke, which could prove to be a jackpot or curse for BJP and Congress. Several pro-Maharashtra groups have extended support to Shelke during campaigning, worrying the camps of two national parties. But it could be a bigger headache for BJP as the same segment had supported it during the last Parliamentary elections. There is a sense of disappointment among pro-Marathi, who feel that their interests have been neglected. The same section had been a traditional support base for Congress, which changed track after the Modi wave. 

Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena will be campaigning for Shelke on April 14.

The constituency has around 18 lakh pro-Marathi voters, but Shelke is focusing only on Belagavi Rural, North and South Assembly constituencies, which have around 8 lakh, such voters.

From the support that Shelke is getting is definitely a cause of worry for both BJP and INC as the votes could turn the tables any side.

The Hindu in a story reports, in choosing Mangala Angadi as the candidate for the Belagavi Lok Sabha seat byelection, the BJP is not resorting to dynastic politics, but it is a way of showing respect to the leader who worked hard for the State and died while on duty, said Arun Singh, BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka.

Where as the INC believed that Jarkiholi is the only one who can match in resources and network of party workers.

In 2019 late Suresh Angadi received 761991 and won with a margin of almost 4 lakh votes. This time too the BJP top brass who have been on a campaign trail in the district have been saying that people will vote for BJP may what come and this time the winning margin would be more than of last time.

The total voting was 67.44% in the 2019 election and ECI SVEEP Team is doing its best to educate the voters and asking them to come out and vote. But experts say the voting percentage could go down and would be in the range of 50-60% and the polling percentage also would play an important role in the results.

The interest in voting this times looks a little low as many feel this is a bye election and it wont affect the govt in the center.

Social media was a buzz with comments of nepotism and favoring NOTA.

With around 19 lakh voters in the constituency where 10-11 lakh voting will happen anyone who can manage to get the 4 lakh figure should manage to go ahead with a good lead.

Many say this could be tough fight for the BJP and INC with the entry of Shelke of the MES.
But this is all if’s and But’s the Voter is the king and he must make the right choice for himself.

This time the voting can be done from 7 AM to 7 PM, with the last hour kept for COVID positive patients as well.

So remember to VOTE on April 17, it is your choice and make a good choice.