Sandur By-Polls-Santosh Lad ‘Binds’ the anti-incumbency and the confused voters

Hemavathy M N

The Congress Cadre in Sandur gets a shot in the arm due to Labour minister Santosh Lad’s ‘Binding Effort’ of the confused and divided voters.

There was a confusion about who could get the ticket, who would lead the campaign, and how successful would the campaign be. Santosh Lad stood as the single window solution for these puzzles in Sandur .

Initially in Sandur, there was a huge divide amongst the SC/ST voters chiding the party workers. The community leaders, though disappointed by the government’s decisions on implementation of Sadashiva Committee Report, were convinced by Santosh Lad, who assured them that the government will be with them to meet their demands . He also held meetings with the disgruntled party leaders and took them into confidence.

Sandur witnesses a tight fight between BJP’s Bangaru Hanumanthu and Annapoorna Tukaram of Congress. Annapoorna is Tukaram’s wife. Nothing seems sure for both the candidates as the Scheduled Tribe votes they belong to is sure to get divided. More the shift of these votes, more the chances of victory for the candidate.

Tukaram’s resignation to contest as Bellary MP, caused a By-Election in Sandur. But the scenario had changed in comparison to 2023 assembly elections. The Valmiki Scandal had invited the ire of the Scheduled Tribes which is now doused by Santosh Lad.

Sandur favours Congress, but voters don’t seem to be that aligned as they were in 2023 as Tukaram himself has a huge anti-incumbency.