BJP trying to retain its hold over the coastal seat for the ninth consecutive term, while Congress is keen to bring back old glory

Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency: BJP aims to retain, Congress seeks to wrest after 33 years. New faces in direct fight. Nestled between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Dakshina Kannada is the only Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka having marine, air, rail, and road transport connectivity. If the BJP is trying to retain the constituency in its fold for the ninth consecutive term, the Congress is fighting to wrest the seat it lost to the saffron party 33 years ago. There is direct fight between two new faces — Captain Brijesh Chowta of the BJP and Padmaraj R. Poojary of the Congress

Nestled between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea, Dakshina Kannada is the only Lok Sabha constituency in Karnataka having marine, air, rail, and road transport connectivity. If the BJP is trying to retain the constituency in its fold for the ninth consecutive term, the Congress is fighting to wrest the seat it lost to the saffron party 33 years ago.

The erstwhile Mangaluru constituency became Dakshina Kannada in 2009 by losing Kodagu district to the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency following delimitation of constituencies.

The BJP, which contested its first two elections unsuccessfully in 1984 and in 1989, captured the seat in its third attempt in 1991. The seat has remained a mirage for the Congress — which had won the constituency nine times from 1951 to 1989 — since then.

The BJP’s debut in the constituency was in 1984 when its candidate late K. Rama Bhat lost against the then two-time Member of Parliament B. Janardhana Poojary of the Congress. The saffron party changed its candidate in the next election in 1989 by fielding late V. Dhananjaya Kumar who lost to Mr. Poojary. Mr. Poojary was elected to Parliament from the Congress for the fourth time and it became the last victory of the party and the leader in the constituency.

Mr. Kumar brought the first victory to the BJP in the subsequent election in 1991 and since then the BJP has held its sway.

The Ram Rath Yatra led by the then BJP national president L.K. Advani in the coastal belt in 1990 changed the political direction of Dakshina Kannada in the 1991 Lok Sabha election in favour of the party.

The next BJP national president Murli Manohar Joshi’s Ekta Yatra in 1991-92 helped the saffron party consolidate its ground.