HUBBALI: The BJP is attempting to get traction in the Congress stronghold of Kalyana Karnataka, which is also the birthplace of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, who is trying to block the saffron brigade's attempt to win seats in the May 10 Assembly election.
The districts of Bidar, Kalaburagi, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, and Vijayanagara have all remained strongholds of the Congress party.
The late Veerendra Patil and N. Dharam Singh, two former chief ministers of Karnataka, also reside in the area.
While there haven't been many major defections in Kalyana Karnataka, mining magnate and former Minister G. Janardhan Reddy has started his own political party, the Karnataka Rajya Pragati Paksha (KRPP), which may not gain much ground outside of a few pockets in the Koppal district and a few Ballari constituencies.
The fact that the Ladle Mashak Dargah in Aland, Kalaburagi, was a Hindu temple is one of the main points the BJP is attempting to raise in the area.
The controversial Sri Rama Sena of Pramod Muthalik always active in the area campaigning that the Dargah was formed by converting the original Hindu temple.
Both Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, and Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance for the Union, raised the matter during their campaigns in the area.
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