Shettar denied Belagavi its rightful projects, says Mrunal Hebbalkar

Congress's Mrunal Hebbalkar challenges BJP's Jagadish Shettar for Belgaum Lok Sabha seat. Voters seek change after unfulfilled BJP promises. Hebbalkar, a fresh face, aims to end Shettar's five-term reign. He refutes nepotism claims, emphasizes party's consultative ticket process. Congress in Belgaum is united, with MLAs supporting Hebbalkar. He plans to counter BJP's reliance on Modi factor, focusing on local issues and Congress achievements.

The Congress’s Mrunal Hebbalkar, who is fighting his first election, is set take on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Jagadish Shettar for the Belgaum Lok Sabha seat in the third phase on May 7. In an interview with Gerard de Souza, he talks on the challenges while contesting and how he plans to break the trend.

Shettar denied Belagavi its rightful projects, says Mrunal Hebbalkar

Edited excerpts:

The BJP considers Belagavi a stronghold considering it has won the seat for five terms in a row. Why do you think this time will be any different?

This time, the voters are looking for a change. In last five terms, the BJP promised a lot — be it an industrial corridor, be it the setting up of multinational industries at the local level, at the national level. It had promised to generate two crore (20 million) jobs, getting back black money, delivering ₹15 lakh into each bank account. However, none of these promises have been fulfilled.

On the other hand, the people have seen the guarantees fulfilled by the Congress government in Karnataka, the benefits of which have already begun to be seen by the people.

I believe the voters want a fresh face. He (Jagadish Shettar ) is 71. I am 31. It is just the starting point of my political career. For him, it is nearing his end and this election the voters will ensure his retirement.

You often face criticism that you got a ticket because you are the son of a sitting minister. What’s your take on this?

I have been involved in politics for the last ten years, working along with my mother (state minister Laxmi Hebbalkar). The party has a procedure for allocating the ticket. Before giving me the ticket, there were consultations right from the booth level, names were solicited and then my name was finalised. It was a bottom-up approach. On the other hand, the name of the BJP candidate came from the high command. The high command said he (Jagadish Shettar) will be the candidate and the local unit had to fall in line.

Given reports of disunity in the Congress camp, is the Congress in Belgaum united? Do you have the support of all Congress MLAs?

Yes, the Congress MLAs are all supporting my candidature and have backed me wholeheartedly and are coming along in my campaign.

One of the advantages of the BJP is that they can rely on the Modi factor and make the elections about national issues rather than local issues. How do you plan to take this on?

There is no Modi wave this time. There is a Modi wave only for BJP party workers. Trying to get common people to vote on issues like Hindutva, especially when there were many unfulfilled promises. I don’t think people will fall for such diversionary tactics.

The feedback we are getting is that the (Congress government) guarantees are working for the poor. There is a strong undercurrent in support of the Congress. The current BJP candidate during his tenure as the chief minister, took all projects from Belagavi to Hubballi – the Rapid Bus transit system, the IIT, the Industrial Corridor, SEZ, high court - thus denying Belagavi its rightful projects. People have not forgotten these local issues. Belagavi businessmen pay the highest amount as GST, what do we get in return?. There is no proper infrastructure here and no improvement has been made over the last so many years.