Karnataka Elections: BJP to face a tough four-corner fight in Belagavi North

Karnataka Elections 2023

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is expected to face a tough fight from Janata Dal-Secular (JDS), Congress, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Belagavi North assembly constituency, a stronghold of the party.

In order to beat anti-incumbency, the ruling BJP dropped incumbent MLA Anil Benake and gave the ticket to Dr Ravi Patil, who will be facing Shivanand Mugalihal (JDS), Rajkumar Toppannavar (AAP), and Congress candidate Asif Sait.

Ravi Patil is a doctor by profession and a Panchamasali Lingayat leader, while Benake is a Marathi. Soon after the list was released, Benake and his supporters had protested against the party’s decision, but he calmed down later after senior leaders intervened to make sure he doesn’t file a separate nomination.

BJP had conducted surveys in the constituency and found that Benake’s popularity had dipped, and that he could lose if nominated. Also, he had opposed Hindutva leaders who had called for a ban on Muslim traders in local fairs.

Neither had he supported the call for excavation in a mosque in the old city area after Belagavi South MLA Abhay Patil had alleged that the mosque was built on the debris of a Hanuman temple.

However, political observers say it would not be easy for the BJP to get votes as other contenders have a strong footing in the area as well.

As per the Karnataka Election Information Centre, Belagavi North has a total of 2,29,511 eligible voters, 1,14,236 of whom are male and 1,15,039 females.

There are 75,000 Marathis in the constituency, while Muslims number 40,000, and Lingayats 25,000.

The Marathi-speaking people of the constituency have asked their community members to boycott the BJP in the May 10 assembly elections.

In the 2018 assembly election, Benake had defeated Congress leader Fairoz Nuruddin Saith, who was the sitting MLA for two terms since 2008, by a margin of 18,000 votes. He had polled 79,060 votes, while Saith had managed 61,793 votes.