MANGALURU: Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituencies have maintained high polling percentage in this election too. Dakshina Kannada, where newbies Capt. Brijesh Chowta (BJP) and R Padmaraj Poojary (Congress) are contesting, saw a voter turnout of 77.43 per cent (77.90 per cent in 2019). Udupi-Chikkamagaluru witnessed a clash between veterans Kota Srinivas Poojary (BJP) and Jayaprakash Hegde (Congress) and recorded a voter turnout of 76.06 per cent (75.74 in 2019) until 6pm.
The marginal rise in voter turnout in these two segments is attributed to the stakes being very high this time for both the BJP and Congress, compared to the past elections. While BJP wants to keep its hold on this coastal-Malnad region, the grand old party had left no stone unturned to breach the saffron fortress. Calculations have already begun to understand which party will gain by the high voter turnout.
According to political pundits, both these segments are likely to witness a touch-and-go contest, even as they give the benefit of doubt to the BJP. “Last time, we won by 2.73 lakh votes in Dakshina Kannada and 3.49 lakh votes in Udupi-Chikkamagalur. This time, we can’t expect such a huge margin. It will be around 50,000 in both seats,” said a BJP leader and former MLA.
Expressing a similar opinion, a Congress leader said the party has not counted both these seats among the 14 seats it is hoping to win in the state. However, he said it is difficult to predict the outcome at this stage, given the high voter turnout. “People could have come out to vote in large numbers to support Prime Minister Modi, or because of the five guarantees of the Congress and the Billava factor.
We have to wait for the results to know how it worked,” he said. The thinking in the Congress is that even if they lose by over 50,000 votes, it’s a victory of sorts for them as it will be seen as a setback to the BJP’s ‘communal politics’.
The party hopes the Billava factor, NOTA campaign over Soujanya murder case, SDPI not being in the contest and a perceived discontent in local BJP units will significantly reduce the winning margin. “Despite all these factors working in our favour, we see a deficit of around 60,000 votes. The gap can be covered only if Billavas and women back us in large numbers,” said another Congress leader.