BJP workers sidelined in Koppal bypoll campaign

KOPPAL: Even as many top BJP leaders and ministers are descending on Koppal for bypoll campaign, none of them seem to be aware that the party workers were being sidelined in the poll campaign by party candidate Sanganna Karadi, who switched over to the BJP from JD(S) in March this year.A three-time MLA from Koppal, Karadi commands a considerable support from members of panchayat and urban local bodies, who too followed him to the BJP.As party workers at the grassroots-level play a crucial role in the poll campaign, it is an open secret that the assignment of meeting the requirements of the workers’ is entrusted to the party’s respective panchayat members in rural areas and councillors in urban areas. In the event of non-availability of such members in any particular seat, the party’s defeated candidate is considered for the job.However, Karadi, who was defeated in the 2004 Assembly elections, has entrusted this all important job to his close confidants.A defeated BJP contestant for the local city municipal council, who was subsequently nominated to the council by the state government, told Express on Monday on condition of anonymity that BJP workers are disenchanted with the party candidate for humiliation by his followers.However, both Sanganna Karadi and the BJP district unit president Girigouda were not available for any reaction.