Bidar on the north-eastern edge of Karnataka borders Telangana and Maharashtra and was one of the places that saw the movement for separate religion status for Lingayat gather steam. Two key candidates — Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president Eshwar Khandre, MLA, and incumbent BJP MP Bhagwant Khuba — belong to the Banajiga subcaste of Lingayat. The potent issue of whether Lingayat is an independent religion or not evens out here as both the candidates are opposed to it. Unlike some other Lingayat leaders in the Congress, Mr. Khandre has not supported the demand for a separate religion status for Lingayat. Mr. Eshwar Khandre, also an engineer, was groomed by his father and Congress strongman Bheemanna Khandre to be his political heir.

Source: The Hindu April 22, 2019 03:51 UTC