Mangalore/Udupi: Following Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh's model of eliminating the anti-incumbency factor at the local level and designing to iron out the personal differences with the local MLA, the BJP has largely resisted giving tickets to sitting MLAs in its so-called strongholds like Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The BJP has released its first list of 189 candidates for the upcoming state assembly elections on Tuesday and is likely to announce the second list very soon.
In Dakshina Kannada district, out of the seven BJP MLAs in eight assembly constituencies, two have been denied tickets. Minister and MLA from Sulya Constituency, Angara, and MLA from Puttur Constituency, Sanjiva Mathandur, have been denied tickets. In the Udupi district, four candidates have been announced for the four constituencies, and three of these four fields have been changed. Udupi Constituency MLA Raghupathi Bhatt, Kapu Constituency MLA Lalaji R Mendon, and Kundapur Constituency MLA Haladi Srinivas Shetty have retired from electoral politics, and others have been given tickets.
The BJP high command has denied tickets to two sitting MLAs in the seven assembly constituencies of Dakshina Kannada district. One of them is a minister, and the decision is believed to have been taken due to the dissatisfaction of party activists against the sitting MLAs. Minister Angara, who represented the Sulya Constituency for the last six times, has been replaced by Bhagirathi Murulya, according to rumors. In Puttur, Asha Thimmappa from the Gowda community has been announced as the ticket for the constituency instead of MLA Sanjiva Mathandur, keeping the Gowda community's strength in mind.
In the Udupi district, Yash Pal Suvarna of the Mogaveera community has been denied a ticket to Raghupati Bhatt in Udupi. Suvarna, who was the Vice President of the Udupi Government PU Girls College Development Committee, played an important role in raising his voice against the hijab. Raghupathi Bhatt, who was the president of the college management board, was also in the forefront, but this time the ticket was announced for Suvarna. Suvarna is the General Secretary of the party's National Backward Classes Morcha and serves as the Chairman of Mahalakshmi Cooperative Bank.
Five sitting MLAs have been denied tickets in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts, which are considered BJP strongholds. The party has introduced five new faces, including two women, as part of a new experiment. The success of this experiment will only be known on the day of the election results.
BJP has taken a bold step in not giving tickets to sitting MLAs in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. The party has introduced new faces, including women, as part of its strategy for the upcoming state assembly elections. Whether this experiment will pay off for the BJP or not remains to be seen.
