Local parties and Independents are giving a tough fight to national and State parties in some constituencies of northern Karnataka districts.

In four constituencies in Belagavi district, Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti, the local party with a single agenda of merging Marathi-speaking areas with Maharashtra, has fielded candidates. They have converted the polls into multi-cornered contests in Belagavi rural, Belagavi north, Belagavi south, and Khanapur.

For long, MES has benefited from its pro-Hindutva stand. Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena leader from Maharashtra, addressed a joint rally of all the four MES candidates in Belagavi on Wednesday. He asked BJP and Congress leaders from Maharashtra to campaign for MES candidates in Belagavi.

It seemed as though the long-standing border and language issue had failed to become a poll issue, it has been revived in the last few weeks. The main reason, political observers say, is the BJP failing to renominate MLA and Maratha leader Anil Benake from Belagavi north. “This sent strong signals to the Marathi speaking population that it has to regroup under the MES. The folly of national parties has led to rejuvenation of the pro-Marathi spirit across the district, especially where the Maratha community is in large numbers like in Khanapur, Belagavi rural, and the two seats in the city,” said Prakash Bilgoji, writer and political analyst.

The strongest impact could be in Belagavi north, where Amar Yallurkar, the lone Maratha candidate in the fray, is the MES nominee. BJP candidate Ravi Patil is a Panchamasali Lingayat who replaced Mr. Benake. Congress nominee is Asif (Raju) Sait, younger brother of former MLA Firose Sait, the only Muslim fielded by a major party in the district.

Mr. Yallurkar is carrying on the decades-old MES tradition of door-to-door visits and street-corner meetings. He says he is not neglecting the Kannada speaking areas. His followers say he would make the Maratha youth realise that voting for the BJP would amount to ‘wasting their vote’. Mr. Yallurkar is expected to cut into the pro-Hindutva vote bank in Belagavi north, that has a sizeable Maratha, Lingayat, and Muslim population.

A similar, though slightly lesser impact would be felt in Belagavi south, where MES fielded Ramakant Konduskar, a former lieutenant of Sri Ram Sena founder Pramod Muthalik. Mr. Konduskar parted ways with Mr. Muthalik a few years ago to start his own pro-Hindutva organisation, the Sri Ram Sena Hindustan. Three-time BJP MLA Abhay Kumar Bharamagouda Patil is seeking re-election from here. The candidate who belongs to the Jain community is a pro- Hindutva leader. He was a loyal follower of former Union Minister H.N. Ananth Kumar. The fight between two pro-Hindutva candidates is expected to loosen the BJP’s vote bank of Lingayat-Maratha-Nekar communities that was seen as a cohesive block.

Raju M. Chougale, veteran MES activist, is taking on Congress MLA Lakshmi Hebbalkar in Belagavi rural. He is seen as a candidate with a stronger pull than Nagesh Manolkar, the BJP nominee who is considered a green horn. Ms. Hebbalkar, the Panchamasali Lingayat leader, may gain slightly from the fact that Mr. Chougale and Mr. Manolkar are both Marathas.

In Khanapur, the MES nominee is Muralidhar Patil, considered a strong pro-Marathi activist. His entry has turned the contest into a four-cornered fight and made it interesting. Excepting the JD(S) candidate Nasir Bagawan, all the major contestants are Marathas. The division of votes is expected to result in thin victory margins.

In Nippani, Uttam Patil, a city-based cooperative sector leader, is fighting as a Nationalist Congress Party leader. He has claimed the support of Shiv Sena and MES. His campaign is attracting a significant portion of the Marathi speakers in this border taluk. Mr. Patil faces Shashikala Jolle, Minister and BJP candidate, and Kakasaheb Patil, senior Congress leader and former MLA.

Vishwanath Patil, former MLA is seen a rebel BJP candidate from Bailhongal. He faces Congress MLA Mahantesh Koujalagi and BJP nominee and former MLA Jagadish Metgud.

Mr. Patil , a B.S. Yediyurappa loyalist was among the few KJP candidates to be elected in the State in 2013. Efforts by some senior BJP leaders in pacifying him did not succeed in making him withdraw from the contest. It is similar to the contest in 2018 when Mr. Patil was the BJP nominee and Mr. Metgud was the rebel candidate, in which Mr. Koujalagi won with a margin of 6,000 votes, pushing the BJP to the third place.

Shambhu Kallolikar, a retired IAS officer, is fighting as an Independent candidate in Raibag (SC), after his application for Congress ticket was rejected. He hails from a political family that carries much clout in some villages. He said that he believes that the people will make their choices based on the qualities of an individual candidate and not party affiliation.

M.P. Latha Mallikarjun, daughter of former Home Minister M.P. Prakash, is fighting as an Independent in Harapanahalli in Vijayanagar district. Though she is considered a Congress rebel, she seems to be upsetting the two national parties and the JD(S). Karunakara Reddy, the eldest of the Ballari-based Reddy brothers, has been holding the Harapanahalli seat. He won in 2008 and 2018, but was defeated by M.P. Ravindra, Mr. Prakash’s son in 2013.

Mr. Prakash’s daughter M.P. Veena has left the field, after announcing that her support to her sister Ms. Latha. In her meetings, Ms. Latha is invoking her father’s contribution to the constituency and the State, and recalling his connections with elders in various villages. Apart from Mr. Reddy, this seems to have affected the campaigns of A.N. Kotresh, Congress candidate, and N.M. Noor Mohammad, JD(S) nominee. There are 11 others in the field, including AAP candidate H. Nagaraj.