Fierce battle between Cong, BJP in Karkala

The political terrain in the land of granite will see an interesting battle between veterans in the Assembly election of May 5.

The constituency is known for the statue of Gomateshwara, Basadis, and granite stones.

Karkala is one of the amazing assembly constituencies.  It is a land of diverse culture and tradition.  It is the constituency which is known for giving a Chief Minister to the State — M Veerappa Moily.

The political hierarchy of the constituency was dominated by the Congress for 10 times.

The constituency which has always been visualised as the political turf more than anything else actually lags behind in terms of development.

Since 1972 to 1994, former Chief Minister Veerappa Moily who contested from Karkala on Congress ticket went on make history by winning consequently for six times.

Veerappa Moily who currently represents the state in UPA government’s cabinet as the petroleum minister brought his political disciple Gopal Bhandary into the political scene in 1994 when he decided to enter the national politics.

The Congress domain was shaken by the BJP in 2004, when Sunil Kumar won against Gopal Bhandary. With the political parties engaged in blame game, the development of the constituency took a back seat. There are many Maoists affected villages in the constituency.

Another issue that bothers the public is the newly constructed bus stop in Bandimutt. The bus stop was built at a cost of Rs 2.50 crore. However, the public are not utilising the bus shelter as they find the old bus shelter more conveneint.

The Maoist- infested hamlets lack basic infrastructure amenities such as roads, drinking water, schools, hospitals and toilets. Majority households do not possess title deeds. These areas remain totally disconnected from outside world during monsoon.

The residents of Hebri have been demanding taluk status for the last several years. However, the successive governments failed to accord the status. Shortage of drinking water is another major problem.

Thopugh there are opportunities to promote tourism, they have not been tapped. Jain Basadis and Aanekere are tourist destinations in the constituency. Voters in rural areas accused Gopal Bhandary of attending their grievances when the election is nearing.

BJP candidate Sunil Kumar told Deccan Herald that Gopal Bhandary is totally failure as an MLA.

He has not taken up any development programmes and the stretches across the assembly constituency show that what sort of governance Congress can provide. There is overwhelming response from the people. We are confident of winning with a margin of 9000 votes”, he added.

On the other hand Congress candidate Gopal Bhandary said that people are fed up with the misgovernance of the BJP-led state government. Public are well aware that only Congress can give a stable and transparent government.