Vinay Kulkarni barred entry, wife & daughter slug it out in Dharwad campaign

NT Correspondent

Dharwad: The fight in Dharwad is not limited to the Assembly elections where women of the house are battling it out by turning the polls into a fight for justice. Barred from entering Dharwad district, Congress candidate Vinay Kulkarni’s wife and daughter are going door-to-door to convince voters, while he himself camps on the periphery of the constituency to support his family pursuing his campaign through social media.

Being accused and out on bail in connection with the murder of Zila Panchayat member Yogeesh Gowda, Kulkarni is not allowed to enter Dharwad district as per a Supreme Court order. Though he tried to get a respite from this restriction, citing the elections, the High Court struck down his request recently. Kulkarni a former minister for Mines and Geology has won twice from this seat, once as an independent (in 2004) and again on a Congress ticket ( 2013 ), while the BJP has won twice.

Speaking to PTI, his wife Shivaleela said, “My husband is staying out of the constituency for almost three years now. When we lost the support of friends and relatives because of the case, I decided to stand up and spearhead the campaign all alone.” In the last few elections, she was not actively engaged i n poll activities, now the entire family has taken it up as a challenge. Shivaleela is busy in the door-todoor campaign and holding rallies in the constituency keeping a cutout of her husband.

“I am trying to meet a number of maximum people face-to-face and convince them to vote for our party. The public response has been good so far,” she said and exuded confidence that her husband will win the election with a good margin. Shivaleela, who has never given public speeches and held any position in the party, is slogging it out along with her children in the crucial ‘do or die’ campaign for the family. I feel the pressure because there is too much attention on us as dad is not in the constituency,” said Kulkarni’s 25-year old daughter Vaishali who had to skip her semester LLB exams to help her family in the electioneering.