BJP’s loss is Congress’ gain in Dakshina Kannada

The Congress snatched a seat from the BJP in Dakshina Kannada with the latter facing a humiliating defeat in Puttur Assembly constituency where it was pushed to the third position.

The Congress snatched a seat from the BJP in Dakshina Kannada with the latter facing a humiliating defeat in Puttur Assembly constituency where it was pushed to the third position.

Of the total eight seats in the district, the BJP won six and the Congress bagged two. In the 2018 election, the BJP had won seven seats leaving one to the Congress.

The incumbent BJP MLAs in Mangaluru City South (D. Vedavyasa Kamath), Mangaluru City North (Y. Bharat Shetty), Moodbidri (Umanath A Kotian), Bantwal (Rajesh Naik U.) and Belthangady (Harish Poonja) made it to the Assembly for the second time. BJP’s novice Bhagirathi Murulya who had replaced the six-time MLA and Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport S. Angara won from Sullia. Two more novices of the BJP Satish Kumpala at Mangaluru and Asha Thimmappa Gowda at Puttur lost.

Former Congress Minister and Mangaluru MLA U.T. Khader who contested for the fifth consecutive time made it to the Assembly. Former Transport and Forest Minister B. Ramanath Rai of the Congress who contested the election from Bantwal for the ninth time lost. Mr. Rai had announced earlier that it was his last election. The call of Mr. Rai appears to have made no impact on the voters.

If the novice of the Congress Ashok Kumar Rai made it to the Assembly from Puttur, two more novices of the Congress Inayat Ali from Mangaluru City North and Rakshith Shivaram from Belthangady lost. Mithun Rai who was the Congress Lok Sabha candidate from Dakshina Kannada in the 2019 election lost as the party’s Assembly election candidate from Moodbidri this time.

Former Mangaluru City South MLA J. R. Lobo of the Congress lost the election in the same constituency against Mr. Kamath.

In the last nine Assembly elections in Puttur (from 1993 to 2018) the fight in Puttur was always between the BJP and the Congress. Whenever the BJP did not make it to the Assembly (1985, 1989, 2013) it was runner-up. But in this election, it was pushed to the third position as the Independent candidate Arun Kumar Puthila, a Sangh Parivar activist who was an aspirant for the BJP ticket, stood second.