Karnataka

History is against former MLA here KEY CONSTITUENCY: MANGALORE CITY NORTH

MANGALORE: Pristine beaches right from Mukka up to Tannirbhavi (partly) invite those who travel down National Highway 17 in Mangalore City North Assembly Constituency.

Known as Suratkal Assembly Constituency prior to delimitation, the constituency is also home to the airport at Bajpe, an export promotion industrial park at Ganjimath and two major industrial estates.

Prior to the delimitation, Surathkal constituency had 16 villages and ward 27 of Mangalore City Corporation.

Post-delimitation, in its new avatar as Mangalore City North constituency, it now has parts of Mangalore taluk, Gurpura Circle and wards 1 to 20, 22 and 23 of the city corporation added to it.

The addition of Gurupura Circle has made this constituency geographically very large, according to candidates in the fray.

Lack of civic amenities, especially drinking water, underground drainage system and proper roads in rural areas rankles minds of voters here.

The urban and rural poor, who dream of owning a house are awaiting the all elusive “hakku patra” (title deeds). The problem of water shortage is acute in the 23 city wards of MCC. The constituency has 1,82,753 voters, including 93,921 women.

The election, which prima facie appears to be a triangular contest between J. Krishna Palemar of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Mohiuddin Bava of the Congress and S.V. Amin of the Janata Dal (Secular), may boil down to a toss off between Mr. Palemar and Mr. Bava.

Voters of this constituency have been inconsistent in their choice of selecting the candidates right from the first elections in 1957. Barring the former Minister Subbaiah Shetty of the Congress — now with the Janata Dal (Secular) — who won from here twice in 1972 and 1977, no other candidate has managed to repeat this feat.

The Praja Socialist Party won from the segment in 1962 and 1967 through Sanjeevanath Aikala and P. V. Aithala respectively.

B.R. Karkera of the Congress won the seat in 1957. Labour leader Lokayya Shetty broke Mr. Subbaiah Shetty’s hold over the constituency winning it in 1983, defeating his peer in the labour movement N.M. Adyanthaya of the Congress. Mr. Adyanthaya returned the favour in 1985 defeating Lokayya Shetty.

K. Vijayakumar Shetty of the Congress retained the seat for the Congress in 1989 defeating Mr. Subbaiah Shetty, who contested on Janata Dal ticket.

However, Mr. Vijayakumar Shetty went on to lose to veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kumble Sundar Rao in 1994.

The tables were turned five years later when Mr. Shetty won against Mr. Rao.

The Congress, which fielded Mr. Shetty against realtor Krishna J. Palemar of the BJP in 2004, however, had to face disappointment.

It is this electoral history, which could weigh heavily in the minds of Mr. Palemar now.

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