‘Absentee MP’ Shobha up against Congress-JD(S) coalition’s Pramod

UDUPI/CHIKKAMAGALURU: While for incumbent BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje , it’s all about riding the Modi wave, for JD(S)- Congress candidate Pramod Madhwaraj, it’s about being the secular face of the coalition government fighting a common enemy. That’s the feedback from leaders of BJP and Congress given that JD(S) is relegated to the fringes along the coast.


For Karandlaje, this election is also about fighting the baggage of being ‘absentee MP’.

A ‘GoBackShobha’ campaign on social media added to her discomfiture. BJP cadres make light of it and assert that it’s about making Narendra Modi the Prime Minister again. A senior party functionary said the feeling in the rank and file has been made known to her. “She can’t shirk her responsibilities to the constituency, citing party organisational duties,” he said.

A BJP Mudigere election convener said Karandlaje has done justice to both roles. “The general caste equations during polls are non-existent as it’s a fight between Modi and the rest,” he said.

For Congress workers, it’s a strange situation, as its symbol is missing from the EVM for the first. “We have to work with the political reality of the day,” said Madhwaraj, not reading too much into the move by KPCC member Amrith Shenoy who is in the fray as an Independent.

Among GenNext first-time voters, it’s either all about Modi or his bête noire Rahul Gandhi, depending on which side of the political divide they’re positioned.