Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), the party that was dismissed by some political leaders as non-existent a few weeks ago, seems to have upset the plans of both the Congress and the BJP in Belagavi district.
As many as four MES candidates, who lost the polls, however, made it harder for others. Though candidates of the two national parties in these seats won the polls, they had to fight tougher battles than ever.
Founded in 1951, the MES is built around a single-point agenda of merging all Marathi-speaking areas in Karnataka with Maharashtra.