In Belagavi, Congress is set to get majority of 11 of the 18 seats. The second biggest district after Bengaluru, had 13 BJP MLAs and five Congress members in the outgoing Assembly.
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As many as 10 BJP MLAs were elected in 2018. Three of them — Ramesh Jarkiholi, Srimant Patil and Mahesh Kumthalli joined the BJP in 2019.
Laxman Savadi, MLC who quit the BJP to join the Congress, got a lead of over 71,000 votes over his rival BJP candidate Mahesh Kumthalli in Athani. His victory announcement is a mere formality, officials say.
Similar is the situation in Chikkodi-Sadalaga where Ganesh Hukkeri of the Congress has a lead of over 50,000 over BJP’s Ramesh Katti.
Certain is the victory of Satish Jarkiholi, Congress MLA who is seeking re-election from Yamakanamaradi.
In Belagavi rural, Lakshmi Hebbalkar has got a lead over MES candidate R M Chougale. In Bailhongal, Congress nominee Mahantesh Koujalagi has a lead over BJP’s Jagadish Metgud.
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In Belagavi north, Congress candidate Asir Raju Patil has a lead over BJP’s Ravi Patil. In Kagwad, Bharamagouda (Raju) Kage has a lead of over 9,000 votes against Srimant Patil of the BJP. Mr Patil is a Ramesh Jarkiholi loyalist who defected to the ruling BJP in 2019. Mahendra Tammannavar of the Congress is set to win the Kudchi (SC) seat. He has a lead of around 20,000 over P Rajeev of the BJP.
In Ramdurg, Ashok Pattan, former MLA has a lead of over 11,000 over BJP’s Chikka Revanna. BJP replaced Mahadevappa Yadwad, incumbent MLA, with Chikka Revanna, a realtor from Bengaluru. Ramdurg and Kurugod in Ballari are the only two seats in Karnataka, where three members of a family - father, mother and son have been MLAs, in succession. Ashok Pattan’s father and mother have been MLAs in Ramdurg in the past.
In Saundatti Yallamma seat, Congress’s Vishwas Vaidya has a lead over BJP’s Rathna Mamani. Saurav Chopra, JDS nominee who left the Congress just before filing of nominations, is in the third place. In Kittur, Babasaheb Patil of the Congress has a lead over BJP’s Mahantesh Dodagoudar. There were rumours of a rebellion in Kittur Congress after it denied a ticket to the immediate family of D B Inamdar, former minister. However, senior leaders managed to quell the dissent.
It seems BJP is set to lose both the seats in which it changed incumbent MLAs. It is winning in seven seats- Gokak, Hukkeri, Nippani, Arabhavi, Belagavi south, Khanapur and Raibag.
In Gokak, Ramesh Jarkiholi has a lead of over 22,000 over Congress nominee Mahantesh Kadadi. In Hukkeri, BJP nominee Nikhil Umesh Katti has a lead of around 8,000 over A B Patil of the Congress. In Nippani, Shashikala Jolle, minister and BJP MLA, has a slight lead over Uttam Patil of the NCP. Congress candidate and former MLA Kakasaheb Patil is in the third place.
In Arabhavi, Balachandra Jarkiholi is leading over Congress nominee Aravind Dalwai. In Belagavi south, Abhay Patil has a lead over MES candidate Ramakanth Konduskar.
Congress is set to lose the seat in Khanapur, where incumbent MLA Anjali Nimbalkar is trailing by around 50,000 votes behind Vithal Halgekar of the MES. In Raibag, BJP MLA Duryodhan Aihole seems set for re-election. He has a lead over JDS candidate Pradeep Malagi. Congress is in the third place.
