Novice Sangh Parivar foot soldier to battle seasoned Congressman

UDUPI: By taking out the incumbent MLA, the Sangh Parivar and BJP have made the battle a tad more difficult for the Congress, by eliminating anti-incumbency and dissidence factors. This will be a direct fight between two crorepatis-one a Sangh Parivar foot soldier-who literally walks barefoot, and a seasoned politician. BJP replaced incumbent Byndoor MLA BM Sukumar Shetty with hardcore Sangh Parivar foot soldier Gururaj Shetty Gantihole. Now it's a direct fight between Gantihole, a Bunt, and four-time Congress MLA K Gopal Poojary, a Billava. Though Billavas outnumber Bunts in this constituency, there are Kharvis, Konkani and Mogaveeras, who can make up the shortfall easily, with targeted campaigning. This constituency, that is nestled in the midst of the natural beauty of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, is also blessed to have the Kollur Sri Mookambika temple, which has its own significance, when it comes to its political history. While the electorate has sent MLAs from the Congress, PSP, Janata Party and BJP, the constituency also has the distinction of being the only segment along the coast, where a legislator was elected unanimously. Y Manjayya Shetty of the Congress was elected unanimously in 1957. Though Byndoor was represented by almost all political parties in the past decades, problems are aplenty here. The incomplete Varahi Right Bank Canal (RBC) project, snail's pace of work on Gangolli port construction, lack of dredging in fishing harbours, non-availability of kerosene for traditional fishermen, sea erosion, intrusion of saline water to paddy fields, absence of tourism infrastructure and unemployment are the major issues that matter to voters in the constituency. The work on the Gangolli fishing port has not yet resumed, after it collapsed during construction. A portion of the jetty under construction at Gangolli collapsed in September last year, leading to political debates on the quality of work. While the opposition Congress has been blaming the BJP government for not taking measures, the ruling party calls it a lacunae on part of the previous governments. Fishermen say the government promised them 300 litres of kerosene every month under a subsidy scheme, but they have received only 820 litres of kerosene this year. The BJP has been insisting on the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to usher in a Blue Revolution, wherein the fisheries sector will be given more emphasis, while implementing development schemes. The NH-66 that passes parallel to the Trasi-Maravanthe Beachfront, one of the most spectacular highway stretches, and Ottinene Beach in the constituency, attract a large number of tourists. People expect better infrastructure at several such tourist spots, and also at the Kollur Temple, which is being thronged by a large number of devotees from across the state and outside. A full-time RSS worker, Gantihole of Uppunda village, says he understands the problems of the people, because of his Sangh Parivar roots. An ardent devotee of Shabarimala Ayyappa, Gantihole walks barefoot and seeks votes for development. Meanwhile, Gopal Poojary, who was elected as the MLA from Byndoor in 1998 (bypoll), 1999, 2004, and 2013, is banking on anti-incumbency and his previous credentials, as the legislator to garner votes. In addition to two major parties, the constituency also has Mansoor Ibrahim (JDS), CA Ramananda Prabhu (AAP), S Prasad (Uttama Prajakeeya Paksha), Kollur Manjunatha Naik (Rashtriya Samaja Dal R), Chandrashekhar G, Shyama B, and H Suresh Poojari (independent candidates) are also in the fray.