BJP retains Belagavi segment for fifth consecutive term

Belagavi: The BJP retained its Belgaum Lok Sabha seat for the fifth consecutive term. Former CM Jagadish Shettar won the seat with a huge margin of 1,75,574 votes against his close rival Mrinal Hebbalkar, the son of the women and child welfare minister, Laxmi Hebbalkar.
Previously, the late Suresh Angadi, a former Union minister, had won from Belagavi for four consecutive terms.After his demise during the Covid-19 period, his wife Mangala Angadi won the by-election. This time, the BJP preferred Shettar for the seat, who won with flying colours.
Shettar had an edge, but the victory with a huge margin wasn’t expected. From the beginning, Shettar maintained the lead in each round, continuing till the last. Notably, city voters played a key role in his victory. Interestingly, Shettar received the second-highest number of votes, 47,017, from the Belagavi (Rural) assembly segment, which is represented by minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, bringing significant embarrassment to the minister.
Shettar received the highest lead of 73,220 votes in Belagavi South, represented by MLA Abhay Patil. The third-highest lead of 23,897 votes came from the Gokak segment, represented by MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi, followed by 21,397 in Bailhongal, 16,006 in Arabhavi and 2,401 in Belagavi (North). Congress candidate Mrinal Hebbalkar received the highest lead of 16,951 votes in Savadatti and 402 votes in Ramdurg. Jagadish Shettar obtained a total of 7,56,471 votes, while Mrinal Hebbalkar received 5,80,897 votes. Mahadev Patil, the candidate of Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), obtained only 9,425 votes.
Speaking to the media, Jagadish Shettar said, “It’s a big victory for me. I have been connected with Belagavi for the past 30 years. I was Dharwad MLA for six terms. Henceforth, I will continue to work for Belagavi as I worked in Dharwad. I will focus on completing ongoing and pending projects and bring more projects to the constituency.”
Jarkiholi’s revenge against Hebbalkar
As expected, the Jarkiholi brothers—Gokak MLA Ramesh Jarkiholi and Arabhavi MLA Balachandra Jarkiholi—completely supported Shettar. They not only ensured the victory of the party candidate but also took revenge against minister Laxmi Hebbalkar. Speaking to the media persons at Gokak, Ramesh, without mentioning the name of Hebbalkar, said, “It was my curse that defeated her son in the elections.”