LS Polls: Modi Wave Sweeps Coastal Karnataka as BJP MP Trio All Set to Return to Power
Mangaluru: Almost all of India seems to have undergone a Modi wave as incoming figures of the vote tally show the Modi-led NDA government winning the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in a landslide victory on counting day i.e. May 23rd, 2019. However, the coastal region of Karnataka seems to have contracted Modi fever more than other regions as early trends showed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sweeping the three districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, and Uttara Kannada. The incumbent MPs of these districts are Nalin Kumar Kateel, Shobha Karandlaje, and Ananth Kumar Hegde respectively.
Dakshina Kannada
In Dakshina Kannada, BJP candidate Nalin Kumar Kateel won with a huge margin of 2,73,367 votes. Nalin Kumar has already won the LS polls twice and this is his third victory. The Congress party fielded young and capable candidate Mithun Rai against Nalin Kumar Kateel but the Modi wave being strong in the district helped Nalin Kumar win the LS polls against the Congress candidate by 2,73,367 votes. Nalin Kumar Kateel (BJP) received 7,72,754 votes while Mithun Rai (Congress) received 4,99,387 votes. In the last elections Nalin had won with a margin of 1, 43,709 but this time the margin is still higher.
Udupi-Chikkamagaluru
In the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru district, BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje has secured 6, 56, 936 votes and leads the polls by a margin of over 3, 42, 442 votes. Meanwhile, her opponent Congress candidate Pramod Madhwaraj received 3, 34, 186 votes. Shobha Karandlaje also received 62.44 percent of the vote share while Madhwaraj only secured 32 percent of the vote share. Karandlaje has also made significant strides and improved her record as compared to the mandate she received in the 2014 general elections as her vote share in that elections was only 56 percent.
Uttara Kannada
In Uttara Kannada, Union Minister Ananth Kumar Hegde retained his Lok Sabha seat by an exponential margin of 4, 79, 649 votes. The controversial BJP leader looked all set to return to power after securing a whopping 7, 86, 042 votes. In contrast, his opponent Anand Asnotikar of the JDS was no match to Hegde and only received 3, 06, 393 votes. Meanwhile, previous data shows that Hegde has improved his political game as he received 68.15 percent of the vote share as compared to 54 percent in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.