Udupi: Halady Srinivas Shetty, a five-time MLA from Kundapur in Udupi district, has announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Shetty has won five consecutive elections from Kundapur since 1999. He won the 1999, 2004, and 2008 elections as BJP candidate. He quit BJP after differences with Sangh Parivar leaders and contested the 2013 election as an independent candidate. However, he later returned to the BJP and won the 2018 election.
Shetty is one of the few MLAs who has increased his winning margin in every election. He entered Assembly in 1999 with a margin of 1,021. In 2004, he won a second time with a margin of 19,665. The margin increased in 2008 election when he defeated Jayaprakash Hegde of Congress by a margin of 25,083. As independent candidate in 2013, he won by a margin of 40,611 by defeating Congress candidate Mallyadi Shivaram Shetty. In 2018, again as a BJP candidate, he won by a margin of 56,405 against Congress Party's Rakesh Malli.
Shetty is close to former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.
In a press note, Shetty thanked the voters and party leaders for their support and mentioned about his decision not to contest the forthcoming election. He requested the people to support the party's new candidate.
Shetty will continue his association with the party, but has decided not to contest the elections.
Sources in the District BJP told Deccan Chronicle that Srinivas Shetty wanted to retire as he has already served five terms. He wants the party to field Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Vice Chairperson Kiran Kodgi from Kundapur.
Kiran is also the vice president of District BJP and enjoys a reputation in the Kundapur BJP circle due to his close association with the leaders and workers there. Kiran is the son of former MLA of Byndoor, AG Kodgi.
Shetty's retirement has given rise to new political calculations in the district.
"Kiran Kodgi is a Brahmin. If he is fielded from Kundapur, then the party will have to reconsider fielding Raghupathi Bhat, the sitting MLA from Udupi. Fielding two Brahmin candidates in the district may be difficult. If a Brahmin is fielded from Kundapur then somebody from the Bunt community will have to be fielded from another constituency in the district," a senior leader said.
