Kagwad poll result disappoints Cong.

By S. K. Ramoo

BANGALORE, OCT. 4. The ``shocking defeat'' of the Congress(I) candidate, Ms. Vijaya Patil, at the hands of the Janata Dal(U) nominee, Mr. Bharamagouda Alagouda Patil, in the Kagwad Assembly byelection in Belgaum district of Karnataka, has plunged the State Congress(I) camp into a state of sullenness.

On the other hand, it was a morale-boosting victory for the State Janata Dal(U), although the margin of victory was only a little over 1,000 votes. It has come as a shot in the arm for the party, which was in a state of disarray following the drubbing it received in the last Assembly polls.

The Congress(I) has experienced its first humiliating defeat in the mid-term Assembly polls. The poll debacle is both hurtful and mortifying on the eve of the S. M. Krishna Government completing its first year in office on October 11. The negative outcome has dampened the spirit of both the State Congress(I) leadership and the Government, which were anticipating an ``election gift'' on the first anniversary. According to a prominent JD(U) leader, a success is a success, notwithstanding its narrow margin. The Congress(I) leaders are not in a position to derive any solace or comfort on this score.

The pattern of triumph, which the Congress(I) was experiencing in the recent polls, is broken with this defeat. The party was riding the crest of success, following the triumph in the prestigious Bellary mid-term Lok Sabha election (the vacancy was caused by the AICC(I) president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, vacating the seat) and the overwhelming victory in the taluk and zilla panchayat elections. Against this backdrop, the reversal of fortune is upsetting to the party leadership. What is baffling is that the record of good performance by the Congress(I) Government under the leadership of the Chief Minister, Mr. S. M. Krishna, failed to translate into a majority support to the party candidate, as the voters favoured the JD(U) nominee.

Interestingly, Mr. Bharamagouda Alagouda Patil, who contested as the JD rebel candidate in the last election, polled over 23 per cent of votes. One of the highlights of the current election scenario is that the rival factions of the Janata Dal have come to an understanding at the constituency level. Following the agreement, the JD(S) has agreed to support the JD(U) at the hustings. It was a kind of trial for both factions to gauge the voters' preference. Eventually, in the crucial test, the message came out loud and clear that they can be a formidable force if they put up a common candidate for averting a split in votes.

It is greatly hoped that this significant outcome will hasten the process of reunification of the factions into a single political entity, which is still a long way to go as both have to overcome several hurdles. There is considerable jubilation in the camps of both factions, and the rank and file are unduly optimistic that the prospect of reunification will come about sooner than expected.

In the perception of the Congress(I) leaders, one swallow does not make a summer. Toeing this line of thinking, the KPCC(I) president, Mr. V. S. Koujalgi, who succeeded Mr. Krishna as the State party president, expressed the obvious by saying that the outcome would not make any impact on the Krishna Government as it was enjoying an absolute majority in the Assembly. For Mr. Koujalgi, who hails from Belgaum district, the district in-charge Minister, Mr. D. B. Inamdar, and another Minister from the district, Mr. Veerakumar Patil, the poll debacle is ``bitter'' as they had campaigned actively. It is a blow to their personal prestige as the district leaders. The defeat has also shaken the strong foundation of the Congress(I) in the district.

For the BJP candidate, Mr. Patil Sanganagouda Anagouda, who lost the poll deposit, it was a crushing and embarrassing debacle. The defeat was further ignominious to the party leadership as he polled only over 3,000 votes as against the party's previous nominee in the last Assembly polls, who had secured over 12,000 votes. It is a clear indication of the erosion of the BJP's base in the constituency. The party leadership appears to be perturbed over the perceptible shrinkage of its popularity.

The poll outcome has sent a clear note of warning to the State Congress(I) leadership, notwithstanding its candidate polling more votes than its nominee in the last elections. Although it is too early for the voters' disillusionment to set in, the party leadership will have to heed to the ominous signs on the horizon to quickly retrieve its lost prestige.

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