Laxman Savadi seen as political counterfoil to Satish Jarkiholi in Belagavi district
Laxman Savadi has been appointed to the Karnataka Cabinet, a move seen as a strategic effort by Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar to build an alternative power center in the Belagavi district. Savadi's inclusion is intended to counter the influence of the Jarkiholi political clan in the region.
Why it matters
The appointment illustrates the complex internal power dynamics and factionalism within state-level political parties in India.
Laxman Savadi, the Congress MLA who is being sworn in as a minister , is among the leaders who have been active in the co-operative political arena of northern Karnataka.
Mr. Savadi, 66, is among the younger lot who pursued a career in the co-operative sector in the region. By the time he entered electoral politics in 1999, he had completed two terms as a director of the district central co-operative bank.
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He contested as an independent and lost to Congress veteran Shahajahan Dongargaon in 1999. In 2004, Mr. Savadi got the BJP ticket and defeated Mr. Dongargaon, a seasoned politician. He has won four Assembly polls and a legislative council election in 22 years.
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