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‘Reluctant’ MLA Bangera still a safe bet for Congress

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Belthangady: If at all the voting trend speculations of Belthangady taluk is to be believed, one does not fail to miss that the substantial chunk of the electorate has remained loyal to the personality cult of the candidate and not the political parties. Of the 13 times, Belthangady has gone to polls; incumbent MLA K Vasantha Bangera takes away the prize for being elected the maximum number of time – this despite the leader changing the party thrice.

On the other hand, the opponents like the BJP in the absence of strong local leadership and having failed to mobilize public opinion on anti-incumbency factor against the incumbent legislator, are now trying to sway public opinion by invoking the vision of their state and national leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the country.

Commonly referred as the temple town, Belthangady is among the must visit destinations for the pilgrims visiting south India. It houses several popular places of worship such as Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara Temple, Southadka Shri Mahaganapathi Temple, Most Holy Redeemer Church, Kajoor Darga Shareef and also touristic spots such as Jamalabad fort.

This taluk unlike other talukas in Dakshina Kannada does not look up to the district headquarters Mangalore for higher education and advanced medical facilities. Courtesy-its mixed presence of government, private and charitable institutions, the Belthangady taluk is well equipped on all fronts. In fact, with its existing setup, Belthangady can easily boast of promoting religious, medical and study tourism for the state.

According to the 2011 census, the total population of the taluk was 2, 69,666 of whom males were 49.38 and females 50.61 respectively. As far as the literacy rate is concerned, the percent of literate male stood 84.72 per cent and female were 71.57 per cent – which is a gap of 13.15 per cent. Since the formation of Belthangady Town Panchayat in 1996, the town has been divided to 11 wards comprising of 81 villages.

In 2013, the Belthangady electorate cast altogether 1,46,229 votes of which the Congress leader K. Vasantha Bangera won by securing (50.97 percent) per cent, BJP’s Ranjan Gowda (40.2 per cent) was second runner-up, CPM candidate B.M Bhat (3.1 per cent), JDS contestant Rajashree S Hegde and KJP Sukesha Kumar secured (1.83 per cent) each, BSP nominee Chennakeshava received (1.19 per cent) and Venkatesha Bende was polled (0.87 per cent). The 2013 election was the fifth win for Bangera from the constituency; and second for the Congress under his leadership.

In the span of 34 years of his political career, MLA Bangera has been profoundly known for switching political affiliations. In 1983, he marked his debut as a BJP legislator by defeating then Congress leader K. Gangadhara Gowda and subsequently he also won the 1985 polls. In 1985 state polls by leading with a margin of 6330 votes, he was the only other legislator to secure the victory for BJP alongside B.S Yeddyurappa – who had won in the Shikaripura constituency.

Owing to differences with BJP leadership he opted out of the party and faced defeat contesting as an independent candidate in 1989 assembly elections, later he joined JD(S) and claimed back to power in 1994.

“Bangera has a great fan following. Irrespective of the party that offers him the ticket, he commands a loyalty base of at least 17,000 voters, due to his personal connection with them. That number can make a lot of difference in a small region like this,” political opponent of Bangera and CPI leader BM Bhat says.

After successive loss in 1999 and 2004 polls, Bangera returned to power in 2008 but this time under Congress banner. Since then, the 72-year old leader has been elected as a legislator twice in a row (2008 and 2013). In 2013, he was appointed as Chairman of Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation Ltd by the incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

At present, the concern of the Belthangady residents largely remains on the poor condition of roads and pathetic condition of bridges especially in the remote areas. Locals also question on the inaction by the state government and the local MLA against over 1000 applications they have made for regularization under Akrama Sakrama scheme since 1991.

Besides, locals have also complained on the non-availability of water in some parts of the panchayat region. “It’s mostly because of unscientific undertaking of minor irrigation projects, that some areas are facing water shortage. If this is bound to happen in agricultural areas like Belthangady, one cant imagine what would happen in the cities,” Lalitha S, a resident of Ujire says.

Moreover, ahead of polls, the political parties are likely to agitate over the implementation of Kasturirangan report in its present form. CPI leaders clarified that nearly 17 villages of undivided Belthangady will be affected if Kasturirangan report is implemented as it is. While identifying ecologically sensitive zones, the villages must be left out, they said.

Speaking briefly to the Newskarnataka.com, the veteran leader Bangera who did not seem at ease of health during this interview, candidly admits of Otthaya (persuasion) by the local cadres as well as the party high command for his continuance in politics. “The locals here of the opinion that my continuance in politics is needed, although personally I am reluctant and would like to retire. However, if again there is any insistence by the high command I will contest in the 2018 polls,” he said

Listing out his achievement Bangera says that it’s not only this (2013) term, but all his five terms must be taken into consideration to assess his performance and his local popularity. He credits himself for the construction of 90 kilometer road across the 81 villages in his taluka under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana and repairs undertaken at several bridges in the region to support all season motor-ability.

He claims to be the vocal supporter of the forest dwellers in the region. “The state and national government must support these people within the framework of their own forest ecosystem and no effort must be made to evict them,” he adds.

His immediate satisfaction he says is with the ongoing work at mini-Vidhana Soudha at Belthangady, for which he says, has got the funds sanctioned from the state government. “Provided we win next term, we will definitely look into the long term rehabilitation of endosulfan victims,” he added.

Meanwhile, both supporters and the opposition alike claim that should Bangera contest polls – it’s unlikely anyone could compete with him in the 2018 election. But if he plans to call it quits, then it’s a level playing field for all. Given, Bangera’s background and credentials, a BJP leader said that ‘backdoor channels’ have already been activated for his inclusion as the party candidate.

Disclaimer

The author is a contributor from www.storyinfinity.com. All views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Spearhead Media Pvt.Ltd or any of its advertisers and affiliates. Spearhead Media Pvt.Ltd does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.Except for the headline; this story has not been edited by Spearhead Media Pvt.Ltd.

'Reluctant' MLA Bangera still a safe bet for Congress
'Reluctant' MLA Bangera still a safe bet for Congress
'Reluctant' MLA Bangera still a safe bet for Congress
'Reluctant' MLA Bangera still a safe bet for Congress

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Harsha Raj Gatty

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