BJP trying to make inroads in Congress bastion Kalyana Karnataka

Hubbali, May 5 (IANS) The BJP is trying to make inroads in the Kalyana Karnataka region, a Congress bastion and the birthplace of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is trying to prevent the saffron brigade's attempt in winning seats in the May 10 Assembly election.

The region comprising the districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal and Vijayanagara have remained a Congress bastion.

The region is also home to two former Chief Ministers of Karnataka, the late Veerendra Patil and N. Dharam Singh.

While Kalyana Karnataka has not witnessed major defections, mining baron and former Minister, G. Janardhan Reddy has formed his own political outfit, Karnataka Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP) which, however, may not make major inroads except in certain pockets of Koppal district as also in some constituencies of Ballari.

One of the major issues the BJP is trying to rake up in the region is that the Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland, Kalaburagi, was a Hindu temple.

The controversial Sri Rama Sena of Pramod Muthalik has been active in the area campaigning that the Dargah was formed by converting the original Hindu temple.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had raked up the issue while campaiging in the constituency, as well as Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Mohammed Abdulla Hashim, a trader in Kalaburagi, told IANS: "Kalaburagi and for that matter Kalyana Karnataka has been an area of communal harmony. Some people are trying to rake up certain non-existent issues and BJP seems to have supported them. This will lead to some sort of uncertainty to the people of the area and everyone should refrain from that."

The Kalyana town in Bidar district was the birthplace of social reformer and poet Basaveshwara.

The iconic spiritual figure of the powerful Lingayat community was born here and Kalyana town is renamed as Basava Kalyana.