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5 out of 5 seats: Congress sweeps Kharge’s turf
In a triumph for the Congress and particularly for its president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress has won all five Lok Sabha seats in Kalyana Karnataka, formerly known as Hyderabad Karnataka.
In a triumph for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and particularly for its president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Congress has won all five Lok Sabha seats in Kalyana Karnataka, formerly known as Hyderabad Karnataka.
Kalyana Karnataka, considered the home turf of Kharge, is also the region where Prime Minister Narendra Modi started his campaign in the state. On Tuesday, the Congress candidates swept the region, successfully unseating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) incumbents in Bidar, Kalaburagi, Raichur, Koppal, and Ballari.
This victory is especially poignant for Kharge, whose personal defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections by BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav added weight to this comeback. Since 2009, after the emergence of the Reddy brothers’ mining influence - Gali Janardhana Reddy, Gali Somashekhara Reddy and Gali Karunakara Reddy - and the Modi wave, the Congress has struggled to maintain its political dominance in the region.
In the 2009 and 2014 elections, the BJP’s three-seat win overshadowed Congress’s two-seat gain. By 2019, the BJP had completely swept the region, winning all five seats as Modi sought his second term as the Prime Minister. However, in the 2024 elections, the balance of power has dramatically tilted back in favour of Congress.
The region is dominated by the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Muslim voters. In the 2019 elections, the BJP had swept the region, raising concerns about the Dalit voters moving to the BJP.
The key victories
Congress’s debutant Sagar Eshwar Khandre emerged victorious in Bidar by bagging 666,317 votes and defeating Union minister Bhagwanth Khuba with a margin of 128,875 votes . In Gulbarga (Kalaburagi), Congress candidate Radhakrishna Doddamani triumphed over BJP’s Umesh Jadhav by bagging 652,321 votes. G Kumar Naik secured a win in Raichur with 670,966 votes against BJP’s Raja Amareshwara Naik, while Congress’s K Rajashekhar Hitnal bested Basavaraj Kyavater in Koppal by securing 663,511 votes. In Bellary, E Tukaram defeated senior BJP leader B Sriramulu by 98,992 votes.
“Kharge’s strategic focus on his home turf in Kalaburagi and the broader Kalyana Karnataka region paid off. His emotional appeal to voters, urging them to support him after his 2019 defeat, resonated deeply. PM Modi’s aggressive campaign from Gulbarga, Kharge’s home ground, and his allegations against the Congress failed to sway voters away from Congress’s track record of developmental work,” a senior Congress leader from the district said on the condition of anonymity.
Development over charisma
While the BJP leaned heavily on Modi’s charisma, the Congress capitalised on tangible development projects such as establishment of the ESIC Hospital Complex, Central University of Karnataka and significant infrastructure projects.
Kharge’s decision to refrain from contesting this election and instead support his son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani in Kalaburagi proved strategic. Doddamani’s victory by a margin of 27,205 votes against BJP’s Umesh Jadhav not only avenged Kharge’s 2019 defeat but also strengthened the Kharge family’s political standing.
Celebrating the victory, Priyank Kharge, state minister for rural development and panchayat raj and Kharge’s son, emphasised the collective effort and commitment to development. “It is a victory for development. My father is in Rajya Sabha, Doddamani will be in the Lok Sabha, and I am in the state cabinet. We will work hard for the development of Kalaburagi,” he said.
Talking about the region, political analyst A Narayana said: “Over a period of time, there were concerns about the Dalit votes in Hyderabad Karnataka moving towards the BJP. This time, Kharge made a very emotional plea to voters. So, the Kharge factor, consolidation of the Dalit votes, lack of Lingayat votes in the region and impact of guarantee schemes since the region is poor, led to the sweep.”
