As the election for Parliament approaches closure, political activities are gaining momentum in Yadgir district. The district has four Assembly constituencies: Gurmitkal, Yadgir, Shahapur, and Shorapur. Gumitkal comes under the Kalaburagi parliament constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC), while Yadgir, Shahapur, and Shorapur fall under the Raichur parliament constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). Thus, these four Assembly constituencies are divided into two neighboring Parliament constituencies.
The Bharatiya Janata Party declared its candidates in the Kalaburagi parliament constituency, under which Gumitkal falls. Incumbent MP Umesh Jadhav has been nominated a second time to contest the election in 2024. He won against veteran Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge in 2019.
In 2019, MLA from JD(S) Nagana Gowda Kandkur extended his support to Mr. Kharge when elections were very close as per the instructions of the party high command as JD(S) was in alliance with the Congress then.
The political situation has changed since 2023. Mr. Kandkur contested on the JD(S) ticket and got elected from Gurmitkal in 2023 when his late father, Nagana Gowda Kadkur, retired from electoral politics due to age-related health issues.
After the 2023 Assembly elections, the JD(S) made an alliance with the BJP at the national and State-levels to face Congress in the 2024 Parliamentary elections. The decision being taken by the JD(S) caused dissatisfaction to Mr. Kandkur, as he seems to have differences in political principles that the BJP is following. Thus, he has started airing his views openly and maintained slight distance from the party, particularly from former Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy.
According to followers, the JD(S) alliance with the BJP has forced Mr. Kandkur to avoid possible meetings with Mr. Kumarswamy. However, he cited his own reasons for not attending meetings with him. They further said that the difference between Mr. Kumarswamy and Mr. Kandkur has turned into a gap since the former did not attend the funeral of Mr. Kandkur’s late father, although he was a prominent follower of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and JD(S) for four decades, as Mr. Kumarswamy sent his son Nikhil Kumarswamy to attend funerals. However, Mr. Kumarswamy expressed condolence when he met him in Bengaluru after a month.
Sources close to Mr. Kandkur said that he has not yet decided whether he has to extend his support to the candidate from the BJP and work for him in the coming parliamentary elections. When contacted, Mr. Kandkur told The Hindu over the phone on Saturday that he has not yet taken any decision on it (supporting the BJP candidate) and doesn’t want to comment on the phone.
“If Mr. Kandkur remained silent or neutral, the workers and followers would support the candidates as per their own wish,” another party worker said.
