Udupi – Chikmagalur by elections scheduled for March 18

Udupi – Chikmagalur by elections scheduled for March 18

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Feb 17, 2012: The Udupi – Chikmagalur Lok Sabha by polls will be held on March 18 and the results will be announced on March 21. The by polls have become necessary because D. V. Sadananda Gowda vacated his Udupi – Chikmagalur seat when he took over as the chief minister of Karnataka in Aug 2011.

Ever since, political parties have been competing for this seat and various names have been suggested for it. While the Congress is backing Jayaprakash Hegde, the BJP is backing Udaya Kumar Shetty and Sunil Kumar.

According to an Election Commission announcement on Feb 16 Thursday, the by poll notification will be issued on Feb 22. The last date to file nominations is Feb 29, and the nominations will be verified on March 1. The last date for candidates to withdraw their names is March 3.

The BJP considers these by polls as a prestige issue since it is for a seat occupied by the chief minister. Naturally, the party wishes to retain it. On the other hand, the Congress hopes that the recent controversies and scams have tarnished the BJP’s image enough to give it a chance to grab it, especially as it had badly lost the recently held Bellary by polls.

By polls are also being held for 11 assembly constituencies in five states, including seven in Andhra Pradesh.