K. Jayaprakash Hegde, Congress candidate | Photo Credit: File photo
The stage is set for the big fight between two heavyweights in the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency with no one withdrawing from the fray on the last day of withdrawal of nomination papers on Monday.
Having fielded four-time MLC and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Kota Srinivas Poojary to retain its seat, the Bharatiya Janata Party faces a formidable challenge from Congress candidate K. Jayaprakash Hegde, former Minister, three time-MLA, and former chairperson of the Karnataka State Permanent Backward Classes Commission.
Other than Mr. Poojary and Mr. Hegde, K.T. Radhakrishna from the Bahujan Samaj Party, Supreeth Kumar Poojary of the Janahitha Party, R. Shabareesh of Karunada Sevaka Party, L. Ranganatha Gowda of the Karnataka Rashtra Samithi, M.K. Dayananda of the Proutist Sarva Samaj Party, B.K. Sachin of the Uttama Prajakiya Party, and Independent candidates Sudhir Kanchan and Vijay Kumar have remained in the fray.
15 lakh electors
The Udupi-Chikkamagaluru lok Sabha constituency has 15,72,958 electors, including 7,62,558 male, 8,10,362 female, and 38 third gender. It comprises Kundapura (2,10,119 electors), Udupi (2,19,028), Kaup (1,90,879), and Karkala (1,92,131 electors) Assembly constituencies in Udupi district and Sringeri (1,68,084 electors), Moodigere (1,70,624), Chikkamagaluru (2,30,023), and Tarikere (1,92,070 electors) Assembly constituencies in Chikkamagaluru district.
While all the four Assembly segments in Udupi district have MLAs from the BJP, the ones in Chikkamagaluru district have MLAs from the Congress.
11 lakh valid votes
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Lok Sabha constituency had 15,13,806 electors in all. The elections saw 11,43,502 valid votes being polled out of 11,51,012 total votes polled with the polling percentage at 76.03.
Incumbent Shobha Karandlaje had polled 7,18,916 votes (62.43%) while the runner-up Pramod Madhwaraj, then contesting on the JD(S) ticket had polled 3,69,317 votes (32.07%). P. Parameshwara of the Bahujan Samaj Party had polled 15,497 votes (1.38%).
