One of the stories often told about Karnataka Congress leader Laxmi Hebbalkar, 49, when she first contested Assembly elections a decade ago in Belagavi district, is that she was nominated by the Congress brass as the party leader. the future at the conference of new party leaders.
The MLA and Congress loyalist – who lost the 2013 state elections and the 2014 Lok Sabha polls in Belagavi – is now the only woman minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka after two consecutive poll victories. Belgaum Rural district in 2018 and 2023 state elections.
During her public life, she was the minister of state for women and child development he showed a streak under his morale. As the president of the women’s wing of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee from 2015 to 2018, Hebbalkar has been at the forefront of many social movements in Karnataka, and has faced her share of controversies.
In the latter, Hebbalkar accused BJP MLC CT Ravi, 58, of using a derogatory term during a debate under the Legislative Council of Congress and BJP MLCs over remarks made in Parliament by the Union Home Minister. Amit Shah to Dr BR Ambedkar.
Words like “drug addict” and “murderer” were reportedly exchanged between the two sides before Ravi used the word in an on-again, off-again feud against Hebbalkar.
Never one to back down in the fight for women’s issues, Hebbalkar took Ravi straight and filed a sexual harassment complaint against him. The Belagavi police arrested Ravi on Thursday night, although he was granted bail.
The Congress leadership has followed Hebbalkar. “The words spoken by CT Ravi are an insult to women in general,” said Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who is also the state Congress president. Hebbalkar is considered to be close to Shivakumar.
In a faction of the party that is deeply divided between Shivakumar and CM Siddaramaiah, Hebbalkar also enjoys good relations with the latter, which is evident in how he managed to get his brother Channaraj Hattiholi into the Legislative Council and his son Mrunal Hebbalkar, 30, on the 2024 ticket. Lok Sabha polls from Belagavi.
While his political career in Belagavi was initially nurtured by the powerful Jarkiholi brothers – one of several families that control power and wealth in Belagavi district – Hebbalkar has since fallen out with Ramesh Jarkiholi, after he was seen trying to usurp the state. Jarkiholi fiefdom with the help of Shivakumar.
Ramesh Jarkiholi, who was in the Congress till 2019, had a falling out with Shivakumar and Hebbalkar and moved to the BJP. He called the Congress leader “poisonous” after he was forced to quit as a BJP minister in 2021 following rape allegations, which emerged after a private sex CD surfaced in the public domain.
Apart from falling out with Ramesh Jarkiholi, Hebbalkar maintained good relations with Satish Jarkiholi, Ramesh’s younger brother who is considered an important political power center in Belagavi and the Congress.
Hebbalkar also has the advantage of having a group behind him, which is the Panchamasali Lingayat, a large community in northern Karnataka. He has been a part of protests for the status of OBCs in society for the past four years. He is also seen as powerful over many Marathas in Belagavi, on the border of Maharashtra.
As the Lingayats traditionally favor the BJP, Hebbalkar’s elevation to the Congress party is seen as an attempt to create a counter-power among the Lingayats.
For the 2023 state elections, Hebbalkar, a postgraduate in arts, has declared assets of Rs 12.65 crore. However, it is believed that his family is rich and owns sugar factories.
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