UDUPI : A mid the rigorous campaign by the BJP and Congress in Kundapura assembly constituency, the challenge before Congress candidate Molahalli Dinesh Hegde, a contractor by profession, is five-time MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty’s sway over the electorate.
While Shetty is not a candidate as he has voluntarily retired from electoral politics, his confidant Kiran Kumar Kodgi got the BJP ticket. Kodgi is the son of former Byndoor MLA late A G Kodgi, who was also chairman of the Third Finance Commission Implementation Task Force. Halady Srinivas Shetty has been supporting the candidature of Kodgi, urging voters to support him the way they have done since 1999.
Halady won from the constituency in 1999, 2004, 2008, 2013 and 2018. In the 2013 election, he had contested as an Independent candidate, upset with the party fielding Kishore Kumar. Halady got 80,563 votes, Congress’ Mallyadi Shivarama Shetty got 39,952 votes and BJP’s Kishore Kumar got only 14,524 votes. The election clearly indicated that the people were impressed by Shetty’s simplicity, apart from him being part of the BJP.
In 1978, Kaup Sanjeeva Shetty had won from this segment from the Janata Party. In 1983, K Prathapchandra Shetty (former Karnataka Legislative Council chairperson) from the Congress triumphed, and was victorious in the 1985, 1989 and 1994 elections. Since the 1983 elections, candidates from the Bunt community had a hold on Kundapura, while a Christian woman, Winnifred F Fernandes, had won in 1967 and 1972.
The Congress is hoping that since the BJP has fielded Kodgi, a Brahmin, this time, it will be able to consolidate the Bunt votes. The Halady factor remains the biggest hope for the BJP, with the retired politician campaigning extensively for Kodgi.
There are about 48,000 Bunt voters, 36,000 Billava and 27,000 Mogaveera voters. Christians and Muslims together constitute 30,000 votes. Unfulfilled demands for a separate RTO for the past three decades, drinking water and intrusion of saline water into paddy fields are the main poll issues in this constituency. Lack of public transport facilities in the interior regions is another hot-button issue. The youth are expecting better job opportunities and utilisation of tourism potential.