In coastal belt of Karnataka, BJP fields new faces

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), known for springing surprises during elections, has done it once again in coastal districts of Karnataka by fielding new faces and denied the party ticket to five of its MLAs, of whom three are seniors.

Of the MLAs who were denied the ticket is S. Angara, Minister for Fisheries, Ports and Inland Water Transport, who had won from Sullia (reserved for Scheduled Castes) consecutively for six times. The BJP has fielded a new face - Bhagirathi Murulya - for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.

In Udupi district, four candidates have been announced. In the 2018 assembly elections, the saffron party swept coastal Karnataka with an aggressive Hindutva campaign. It had won from all the five constituencies in the district.

In the prestigious Udupi seat, firebrand activist Yashpal Suvarna has been given a party ticket replacing sitting MLA Raghupati Bhat. Yashpal has a strong support among the party cadre with his campaign for cow protection and the fight against hijab in educational institutions that raged in the coastal district in early 2022.

In Kaup constituency, Bunt community leader Gurme Suresh Shetty has been given ticket replacing sitting MLA Lalaji R Mendon.

Vedavyasa Kamath has secured the ticket again from Mangaluru South constituency while Dr Bharat Y Shetty will contest from Mangaluru North and Satish Kumpala from Mangaluru.

Gururaj Gantihole, a partyman with strong RSS background, has been fielded as a candidate from Byndoor by replacing sitting MLA B M Sukumar Shetty. Meanwhile Kiran Kumar Kodgi, a nominee of sitting MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty, who announced his retirement from electoral politics, was given ticket in Kundapur.

Among the five seats in the district, only Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar could get the party's renomination from Karkala constituency.

In Kaup, BJP fielded a new face in Gurme Suresh Shetty, replacing sitting MLA Lalaji R Mendon.

In Karkala, where the party retained minister V Sunil Kumar as its candidate, a tough fight is expected in view of Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik's decision to contest polls.

At Mangaluru segment (Ullal), a stronghold of the Congress, the party has given ticket to Satish Kumpala, former vice-president of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat (DKZP) to take on four-time MLA UT Khader of the Congress.

Meanwhile, Harish Poonja will contest from Beltangady, Asha Thimmappa Gowda from Puttur, Umanatha Kotyan from Moodbidri and Rajesh Naik from Bantwal.

Yogi Adityanath in high demand for Karnataka polls

As the parties exert full force ahead of polls, the state leadership of the BJP wants Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to be seen with different candidates at public rallies. The demand may have gone up after the latest police encounter of Asad Ahmed and Ghulam. It may be recalled that Yogi Adityanath had once said,''Iss House mein keh raha hoon. Iss mafia ko mitti me mila denge. The comments were made on February 25, following the murder of Umesh Pal, a lawyer and key witness in the murder case of Raju Pal, a BSP MLA in 2005.

No doubt that the BJP has significantly increased his poll rallies ever since Adityanath was made the chief minister. Defying all odds, Adityanath, however, established himself as one of the most popular Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh and also a prominent leader of the saffron party over the years.

Now Adityanath is popular for his strict actions against mafias and criminals.

According to a News18 report, Karnataka BJP leaders want to cash on the popularity and strict image of CM Yogi Adityanath. They want more rallies by Yogi Adityanath especially in coastal Karnataka where Hindutva is reportedly a major issue.

Karnataka Assembly election 2023 will be held in a single phase on May 10 and the counting of votes will be held on May 13.