Belagavi's 18 seats face tough Cong-BJP contest; MES may play spoilsport

Belagavi district with second highest number of assembly seats after Bengaluru Urban -- is expected to face tough contest between the BJP and Congress as Lingayat politics surmounts the local issues, but the Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES) could play spoilsport in a few seats as it wants to keep the border issue alive.

There are 18 assembly constituencies in the border district which is a Lingayat stronghold and has been a BJP bastion in the last two decades.

As in the last three elections, it is likely to be a straight contest between the BJP and Congress in most of the assembly seats barring five where the Shiv Sena-NCP supported MES -- a vocal proponent of the inclusion of Belagavi and other Marathi-speaking areas in Maharashtra -- has fielded local candidates.

The leadership vacuum in the Lingayat community after sidelining of stalwart leader B S Yediyurappa, demise of some prominent local Lingayat BJP leaders like Suresh Angadi and Umesh Katti and rising clout of politically