NEW DELHI: The BJP has received a backlash in the elections for the president of the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.

Noted Kannada writer and Jnanpith recipient Chandrashekara Kambara has been elected as the president of the national academy of letters defeating his nearest rival Odiya novelist and Jnanpith recipient Pratibha Ray, who was nominated by the BJP.

Dr. Kambara secured 56 votes against 29 by Pratibha Ray.

He is the third Kannada writer after Vinayaka Krishna Gokak and U R Ananthamurthy to head the academy.

Born on January 2, 1937, Chandrashekhara Kambara is a prominent poet, playwright, folklorist, film director in Kannada language and the founder-vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi.

He is known for effective adaptation of the North Karnataka dialect of the Kannada language in his plays, and poems, in a similar style as in the works of D R Bendre.

Kambara's plays mainly revolve around folk or mythology interlinked with contemporary issues, inculcating modern lifestyle with his hard-hitting poems. He has become a pioneer of such literature.

His contribution as a playwright is significant not only to Kannada theatre but also to the Indian theatre in general as he achieved a blend of the folk and the modern theatrical forms.

Besides the Jnanpith Award in 2011, he has been conferred with many prestigious awards including Sahitya Akademi Award, the Padma Shri by Government of India, Kabir Samman, Kalidas Samman and Pampa Award.

After his retirement, Kambara was nominated as the Member of Karnataka Legislative Council, to which he made significant contributions through his interventions.