The Hindu Business Line : BJP makes inroads into DK, Udupi districts

THE Bharatiya Janata Party, which managed to win Mangalore and Udupi Parliamentary seats in the elections conducted on April 26, has won a majority of Assembly seats in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kodagu districts.

Three ministers in the Krishna Government, Mr Ramanath Rai, Mr Vasanth Salian and Ms Suma Vasanth and the former Chief Minister, Mr Veerappa Moily, were the prominent losers.

Mr D.V. Sadananda Gowda and Ms Manorama Madhwaraj of the BJP defeated their nearest Congress rivals, Mr Veerappa Moily and Mr Vinayakumar Sorake, in Mangalore and Udupi Lok Sabha constituencies, respectively.

Mr Gowda, who secured 3,84,760 votes, defeated Mr Moily by a margin of 33,415 votes. Ms Madwaraj, who secured 3,69,627 votes, defeated Mr Sorake by a margin of 29,003 votes.

Of the eight Assembly constituencies coming under the jurisdiction of the Mangalore Lok Sabha Constituency, BJP has won in six. The BJP candidate from Mangalore Assembly Constituency, Mr Yogish Bhat, defeated the Congress candidate, Mr Lancelot Pinto, by a margin of 5,063 votes.

In Puttur, Ms Shakuntala Shetty of the BJP, who secured 65,119 votes, defeated her nearest Congress rival, Mr M. Sudhakara Shetty, by a margin of 11,112 votes.

In Sullia (Reserve) constituency, Mr S. Angara of the BJP, who secured 61,480 votes, defeated Mr B. Raghu of the Congress by 17,085 votes.

It was narrow-margin victory for the BJP in Vittal Assembly constituency. Mr Padmanabha Kottari of the BJP secured 60,250 votes, defeating the Congress candidate, Mr K.M. Ibrahim, by a margin of 391 votes.

The Congress candidate, Mr U.T. Fareed, defeated the BJP candidate, Mr Chandrahasa Uchchil, by a margin of 7,348 votes in Ullal Assembly Constituency. Mr Fareed secured 47,839 votes.

In Kodagu, BJP has won two Assembly seats and the Congress one. Since Kodagu is part of the Mangalore Lok Sabha constituency, counting for the Assembly constituencies were held in Mangalore.

Mr H.D. Basavaraju of the BJP defeated Ms Suma Vasanth by a margin of 8,066 votes in Virajpet Assembly Constituency. In Madikeri, Mr K.G. Bopaiah of the BJP secured 31,610 votes, defeating his nearest rival, Mr D.S. Medappa of the JD (S) by a margin of 8,164 votes. Mr B.A. Jivijaya of the Congress, who secured 46,560 votes, defeated Mr Appachu Ranjan of the BJP by a margin of 2,797 votes in Somwarpet Assembly Constituency.

Of the eight Assembly Constituencies coming under the jurisdiction of Udupi Lok Sabha segment, the BJP has won five. While the Congress won two seats, an independent candidate won one.

In Udupi Assembly Constituency, Mr Raghupati Bhat of the BJP defeated Mr U.R. Sabhapati of the Congress by a margin of 1,533 votes. Mr Lalaji Mendon of the BJP, who secured 33,611 votes, defeated Mr Vasanth Salian of the Congress by a margin of 1,390 votes in Kaup Assembly Constituency.

In Kundapur, Mr H. Srinivasa Shetty of the BJP defeated Mr Ashok Kumar Hegde of the Congress by a margin of 19,665 votes. Mr Shetty got 58,923 votes. The former President of Campco and BJP candidate, Mr B. Nagaraja Shetty, who secured 54,860 votes, defeated Mr B. Ramanath Rai of the Congress by a margin of 5,926 votes in Bantwal Assembly Constituency.

In Surathkal, Mr Krishna Palemar of the BJP defeated Mr Vijaykumar Shetty of the Congress by 3,312 votes. Mr Palemar got 57,808 votes.

Mr Gopal Poojary of the Congress, who secured 47,627 votes, defeated Mr Lakshminarayana of the BJP by a margin of 3,252 votes in Baindoor Assembly Constituency.

In Moodbidri, Mr Abhayachandra Jain of the Congress defeated Mr Amarnath Shetty of the JD (S) by a margin of 2,949 votes. Mr Jain secured 29,926 votes. The independent candidate from Brahmavar Assembly segment, Mr Jayaprakash Hegde, defeated Mr Pramod Madhwaraj of the Congress by a margin of 12,173 votes. Mr Hegde secured 39,521 votes.

Mr Prabhakara Bangera of the BJP, who secured 49,105 votes, defeated Mr Harish Kumar of the Congress by a margin of 13,043 votes in Belthangady Assembly Constituency.