Bharat Shetty celebrating his victory as MLA from Mangaluru City North constituency with supporters in Mangaluru on Saturday, May 13, 2023. , Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
A vocal campaign by former Congress MLA BA Mohiuddin Bawa to contest from the Mangaluru City North constituency to deny him a ticket by the Congress did not work as he lost the election as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate in the same constituency Were.
Mr Bava secured 5,256 votes against the victorious sitting MLA Y Bharat Shetty, who secured 1,03,531 votes. Congress candidate Inayat Ali got 70,609 votes. In Dakshina Kannada, the difference of 32,922 votes between the BJP and the Congress is the highest among the winning candidates.
Mr. Bawa, who has contested elections thrice from the Congress and won in 2013, was among the Congress party ticket contenders for the fourth time. Contractor and NSUI office bearer Mr. Ali was also eyeing a ticket. Claiming that the party’s internal surveys are in his favour, Mr Bava allegedly tried to influence All India Congress Committee President Mallikarjun Kharge for a Congress ticket through Janata Dal (Secular) supremo HD Deve Gowda. Shri Bawa’s brother BM Farooq, MLC is the working president of Janata Dal (Secular).
When he failed to get a Congress ticket, Mr. Bawa filed nomination as a JD(S) candidate. He campaigned accusing Congress state chief DK Shivakumar of taking money from Mr. Ali for a Congress party ticket. Mr. Bawa is eyeing sympathy votes.
Due to this triangular contest, Dr. Shetty got 4,883 votes more than the 98,648 votes he got in the 2018 assembly elections. Dr. Shetty got 1.03 lakh votes which was 57.15% of the 1,81,169 votes polled. These votes were 41.5% of the total 2,49,464 voters in 2023. Dr Shetty had secured 98,648 votes in 2018, which was 56.02% of the 1,76,104 votes polled and 42% of the 2,34,856 voters.
The 70,609 votes polled by INC’s Inayat Ali was 1,039 votes less than the 71,648 votes Mr Bawa secured as the Congress candidate in 2018. No one from the JD(S) contested from the constituency in the 2018 elections.