UDUPI: If the result of the Assembly election 2023 is any indicator for the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, then it is a mixed bag for the Congress and the BJP in the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency.
Strategists in both the parties are looking at the 2023 Assembly election result to chalk out their campaign strategy.
Udupi, Kaup, Kundapur and Karkala Assembly segments in Udupi district that are part of the Lok Sabha constituency are a challenge for the Congress, while Sringeri, Chikkamagaluru, Mudigere and Tarikere Assembly segments in Chikkamagaluru district that are part of the constituency, pose a challenge for the saffron party.
In the 2023 Assembly election, the BJP candidate in Udupi Assembly segment won by a margin of 32,776 votes. In Kundapur, the BJP’s candidate won by a margin of 41,556 votes. BJP won in Kaup Assembly seat, with a margin of 13,004 votes. The lowest victory margin for the BJP was in the Karkala Assembly seat and the margin was 4,602 votes.
In the Sringeri Assembly seat, Congress’ victory margin was 201 votes, and its margin was 722 votes in Mudigere, while the margin in Chikkamagaluru Assembly segment was 5,926 votes. Comparatively, the Congress saw a better victory margin in Tarikere Assembly segment, where its candidate won with a margin of 12,131 votes.
BJP sources said the BJP-JDS combine will turn the wave in its favour in Chikkamagalur’s four Assembly segment in this Parliamentary election and that the same is fought over national issues, which is a different ball game, while Congress sources said that party MLAs have taken it as a prestige issue to give lead from four Assembly segments.
If the lead of BJP in the 2023 Assembly election in four segments in Udupi district is totalled, it would arrive at 91,938 votes, while the total lead of Congress in four Assembly segments in Chikkamagaluru district is 18,980 votes. Hence, it can be said that the BJP still holds sway in the constituency, however if other factors like caste and guarantees of the state government play out in the voters’ mind, the Congress may benefit.