Mangalore: Nomination for TP, ZP Elections Gains Momentum in Coast

Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Dec 17: On Thursday December 16, a total of 12 nominations were filed for Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat election. Talukwise figures of the nominations are, Mangalore (independent - 1), Bantwal (BJP – 2), Beltangady (BJP – 5, JDS – 1), Puttur (BJP – 1, CPM – 1), Sullia (JDS – 1). For the taluk panchayat election, 49 nominations were filed.

In Udupi district, eight nominations for zilla panchayat election were received on Thursday, while 14 nominations were received for taluk panchayat election from Udupi taluk.

24 nominations were filed for taluk panchayat election from Beltangady taluk. Split up figures of these nominations are, Congress (7), BJP (10), JDS (4), and independents (3).

In Kundapur taluk, 19 nominations for TP election, and 11 for ZP election, were received. Out of these 11, five are from Congress, and remaining six, to BJP.

A total of six persons including two from the BJP, filed their nominations from Karkala taluk.

In Udupi district, the JDS has delayed the release of its list of candidates by a day to Friday, as it expects a few Congress and BJP leaders to join that party, compelling it to modify list of candidates at the last minute.

Interestingly, only two sitting members find a place in the list of zilla panchayat candidates released by the BJP on Thursday. While Asha Timmappa from the party, who earlier represented Nelyady constituency, has been shifted to Bellare, Venkat Dambekody has got an opportunity to fight the election from Guttigar, his old constituency. The party found it hard to accommodate others because of changed reservation pattern. With the allotment of a ticket to Sunita Sucharita Shetty, wife of JDS leader, Sucharita Shetty, from Puttige constituency, stage has been set for Shetty’s cross over to the BJP.

The future course of Santosh Kumar Bhandary, a Congress zilla panchayat member, who rose to be the ZP president with Congress support, and Sadanand Malli, ZP member from Congress, who is standing committee chairman of ZP, are not fully clear as yet. Rajasri Hegde, who all along sided with the BJP in the zilla panchayat, surprisingly was nominated by the JDS again from Kaniyoor constituency. These three had clearly supported the BJP during the previous zilla panchayat term. Bhandary however,  is certain to join the BJP in a couple of days.