Rebels may spoil Congress chances in Udupi-Dakshina Kannada

Mangaluru: Congress leaders are confident that party candidate Pratapchandra Shetty will win the Legislative Council election. But what is giving the party leaders sleepless nights is the number of votes rebels Jayaprakash Hegde and Harikrishna Bantwal would garner.

“Of the 6,500 votes, the Congress has about 2,400 votes. We are confident of getting enough first preferential votes to win the election. But what is of concerning is the number of votes Jayaprakash Hegde and Harikrishna would take. If Mr Hegde gets more than 400 and Harikrishna succeeds in getting around 200 votes, then it is a defeat for the party even if Mr Shetty wins,” a senior Congress leader told Deccan Chronicle.

“Here, the fight is between the Congress and Mr Hegde. As he is a familiar name in Udupi district, he managing to get around 100-200 votes in this belt is acceptable. But if he gets votes from distant places like Sullia, Puttur and Belthangady in Dakshina Kannada and if he manages to get over 500 votes then it will clearly indicate that party workers and voters are not happy with the leadership,” he said.

“The election is fought along party lines. But if a rebel candidate, stranger to a region, gets over 500 votes then it will surely indicate that the Congress leadership has failed to reach out to the party voters,” he said.

Congress leaders worried

Party leaders are also worried about differences within the organisation. “Billava community leaders wanted a representative from their community, Harikrishna Bantwal, fielded as a Congress candidate. After the party denied him a ticket, he is now contesting as a rebel.

“He may manage to get Billava votes as the community leaders are unhappy with the Congress. In addition, the party seems to have neglected senior leader Janardhan Poojary, which is likely to cost us,” he said.

“Minister Vinay Kumar Sorake, who too is from the same community, has been leading the election campaign, while Mr Poojary has been given a short shrift,” the senior Congress leader alleged.

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