In Northern Karnataka’s Vijayapura city constituency, the fight is between sitting BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and Congress’ Abdul Hamid Mushrif. However, shifting away from the political wrangling, a look around the constituency makes it evident that the city requires development, including basic amenities such as drinking water and roads.
As Yatnal seeks a second term from the constituency, development and Hindutva are the major issues he is raising. Yatnal is not new to controversies and the latest was the ‘vishkanya’ comment against Sonia Gandhi. The BJP, however, claims the basic needs of the city have been attended to.
Sivarudra Bagalkote, the BJP district president, said: “Development and Hindutva are our agenda. Our MLA in the past five years has done a lot of work. Here drinking water and roads were a huge problem. Now those issues have been addressed. More than 30 open gyms and over 50 RO plants have been set up. The primary issues have been solved.”
Meanwhile, the Congress alleges that development is superficial and the interior areas lack proper roads, drinking water and health amenities.
MB Patil, former minister and KPCC campaign committee chairman, said: “The current MLA talks about development. You should go to the wards which have majority Muslim population. He has not even developed one road there. He has been partial. Once you become an MLA, you are the MLA for all the people, not just one community.” Patil also alleged that the MLA makes hate speeches and provokes Muslims in the area.
Congress candidate Mushrif lost the last elections by about 6,000 votes but is hopeful that he will win this time. His promises include drinking water, better roads, health facilities, electricity and industries for the people of Vijayapura.
The constituency has about 2.7 lakh voters of which about 1 lakh are Muslims. It is a historical city which has Gol Gumbaz, the second-largest dome in the world, and the district is also the birth place of Basavanna, a saint philosopher who reformed society in the 12th Century.
The one demand that is consistent from the constituency is that they need more development. This area also sees migration from youngsters in search of better opportunities.
Nataraj, a trader in the Gandhi Chowk market, said: “We have a lot of historical places but we need better transportation for tourism to develop. Rail, road and air connectivity should be developed. Now, the airport is under progress. The place will have better opportunities only if infrastructure and tourism are developed.”
Another resident says tourists often talk about the lack of infrastructure and don’t want to return.
An auto driver in the city said: “Our major concern is getting drinking water 24×7. In my area, the water comes once in seven or 10 days.”
Yashas Limbikai, another resident, said jobs for youngsters are missing. “They need to bring in IT parks, dry fruit industries, and factories so that there are more employment opportunities in the area.”
The production of raisins is one of the most important activities in the area. There is grape cultivation in about 17,500 hectares of land mainly for raisins and wine. The grape growers also have several concerns and issues which need the government’s attention.
Abhay Kumar, president of the Karnataka Grape Growers Association, said like Nandini, there should be a trade name created by the state board. “There should be grading of quality raisins. The government should give a certificate for the quality of the product. There should also be a platform for online sales.”
Mahesh, whose family owns a vineyard in Vijayapura, said: “In India, Bijapur and Krishna river belt region is the second largest producer of raisins but we have less storage facility. Around one lakh storage facility is required but we have availability of only about 50-60,000. As a result, the good products of Bijapur go to Maharashtra and become more popular all over India. This should be addressed.”
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