BJP retains hold over three coastal Lok Sabha seats

Retaining its stronghold over coastal Karnataka, the BJP retained all three Parliamentary seats – Dakshina Kannada, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada – in the elections held to the 18th Lok Sabha.

Retaining its stronghold over coastal Karnataka, the BJP retained all three Parliamentary seats – Dakshina Kannada, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru and Uttara Kannada – in the elections held to the 18th Lok Sabha.

Though the saffron party did not re-field its incumbent Members of Parliament — Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shobha Karandlaje and Ananth Kumar Hegde — it sailed through comfortably in all three constituencies.

Sources said that the BJP keeping its “Hindutva narrative” alive helped the party to retain its seats though the winning margin of all three candidates came down in 2024 when compared to 2019 elections. The decline in winning margin shows that the Congress could make some inroads into the vote share of the BJP.

The party retained its Dakshina Kannada seat for the ninth consecutive term since 1991 elections. It is among only two such Lok Sabha seats, with the other one being Bengaluru South, won by the BJP in Karnataka. Brijesh Chowta, a former Captain with the Indian Army, who won from Dakshina Kannada by defeating Padmaraj R. Poojary, a novice and an advocate, of the Congress, is also the Secretary of the State unit of the BJP.

The BJP won the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat for the fifth consecutive term since 2004 elections, except in 2012 byelection which was won by the Congress. The party’s candidate Kota Srinivas Poojary, who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, defeated K. Jayaprakash Hegde of the Congress. Mr. Hegde was also a former Minister and a former chairman of Karnataka Backward Classes Commission. Mr. Poojary is a novice to Lok Sabha while Mr. Hegde had won the seat in 2012 byelection from the Congress.

Incidentally, Laxmi R. Hebbalkar, district in-charge Minister for Udupi, stayed away from campaigning for Mr. Hegde who had tasted defeat in 2009 and 2014 Lok Sabha elections in the same constituency.

The BJP won Uttara Kannada seat for seventh consecutive time since 1996 polls, except in 1999 election which was won by Margaret Alva of the Congress.