Mangalore: Election battle in Dakshina Kannada - A bird's eye view
Brijesh Garodi
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore
Mangalore, May 7: Election, election, election... for the past one month or more, the people of Karnataka have been bombarded with this word. Everywhere you looked, there was a candidate or his/her supporter campaigning for votes, or slinging mud at the opposition.
It’s all over now, and the countdown has begun for the counting which will be done tomorrow, Wednesday May 8.
Till date, it was all about predictions and assumptions, but less than 24 hours from now reality is going to strike. No doubt, the candidates, their supporters, and specially the bookies, with their fingers crossed and stomach full of butterflies, would be passing through a tough time and they wouldn’t have slept peacefully since Sunday.
It will be someone's victory, and someone's defeat. It is time for celebrations and a time for introspection. Ultimately, the winner will be the majority of 6 crore people in Karnataka.
There are altogether eight constituencies in Dakshina Kannada district and the counting is to be held at Canara College in the city from 8 am. It would be really a sigh of relief to the police staff, election commission staff and specially the paramilitary forces like BSF, RAF, CISF and others, who have been guarding the EVMs 24X7 and keeping a sharp eye on poll code violators ever since the election was declared in March end.
Mangalore (Ullall), Mangalore North (Suratkal), Mangalore South, Bantwal, Moodbidri, Beltangady, Puttur and Sullia are the eight constituencies that come under the DK district.
Earlier, it was mostly the national parties that fought the elections, but this time, it is not just a Congress-BJP-JD(S) battle, we have several independents in each constituency, and parties SDPI and KJP, which, though they may not seem strong, are capable of causing an upset or two. The recent local urban body election already gave us a taste of it.
For the benefit of readers, here's a quick glance at the constituencies in DK and the prime candidates:
Mangalore Constituency (Ullal):
The fight in this constituency is between U T Khader of Congress and Chandrahas Ullal of BJP. More than the parties, it is the communities that will come into play here. It will be interesting to see if the SDPI, KJP and the independent candidates would really affect the results, and especially, divide the minority votes. As per the popular opinion, U T Khadar is on the top of the list.
Mangalore North:
Krishna J Palemar of BJP and Mohiuddin Bava of Congress are in the frontline here. That said, whether Ramachandra Baikampady of KJP would grab the Mogaveera votes and SDPI/independent candidates garner minority votes is anyone's guess. A proven track record suggests that the wind is blowing towards Palemar, but it will not be a surprise if it were to change its direction this time round.
Mangalore South:
The two strong pillars planted in this constituency are J R Lobo of Congress and Yogish Bhat of BJP. It is keenly fought contest between a man experienced in politics and a man experienced in administration. Time to wait and and see who the public would chose to be their next MLA.
Bantwal:
The two tigers of this region, Rajesh Naik of BJP and Ramanath Rai of Congress started roaring the moment the election was declared. Fingers are crossed as everyone waits to see which tiger will continue to roar in the coming days. SDPI can be a threat to the Congress here, as they might easily grab minority votes.
Moodbidri:
This is a one constituency with a triangular fight between Umanath Kotian of BJP, Abhayachandra Jain of Congress and Amarnath Shetty of JD(S). Public opinion says that the least experienced Umanath Kotian may rock the region due to the caste-based politics, but Abhayachandra Jain with his experience and track record will be a tough opponent to beat.
Beltangady:
A constituency to be really admired, the fight here is between a cub and a tiger - between a fresh face and an experienced hand. Ranjan T Gowda of BJP and Vasanth Bangera of Congress. It will be interesting to see whether the people go for the new or the experienced.
Puttur:
An interesting battle here between Sanjeeva Matandoor of BJP and Shakuntala Shetty of Congress. Would the relationship between Sanjeeva Matandoor with the former CM Sadananda Gowda be a plus point to his political careeer, or would the people choose to be ruled by a queen? The public opinion here is 50-50.
Sullia:
S Angara of BJP and Dr Raghu of Congress - the two are racing towards the finish line here, but who will reach there first, we will have to wait and see.
Some people have opined that the results will be similar to that of the urban local body election, which in fact was surprising and unexpected. The betting for this election has been on the higher range, some in thousands and a few in lacs. As it is the IPL season and betting is on in cricket, the bookies have not shown much interest on the election results, say experts.
Whatever be the case, the future of the state and the political careers of candidates are hidden inside the ballot boxes, closely protected by the BSFs and CISFs, for now.
The only thing the city and the constituency is in need of is the overall development which has been lacking from many long years. More than the beautification and infrastructural development of a constituency, it the provision of basic necessities like water, roads, electricity, transportation, education etc that is the need of an hour. For Mangalore and surrounding regions particularly, what the citizens hope for is a party that can ensure peaceful co-existence and harmony.
One hopes this election would bring out the best possible result and be a true tribute to justice. May the best candidate win.
On the election trail: