The stage is set for a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress in Dakshina Kannada with the Congress deciding to field Mithun Rai, president of the district unit of the Youth Congress, to take on Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament and BJP candidate, in the April 18 elections to the Lok Sabha.
After fielding B. Janardhan Poojary in nine of the last 11 Lok Sabha elections from the constituency (erstwhile Mangalore constituency covering Kodagu), the Congress has now fielded a youth leader with the hope of wresting the constituency which it lost to the BJP about three decades ago.
In the last nine elections, Mr. Poojary had won from the constituency for four terms in 1977, 1980, 1984 and 1989. He lost to the BJP five times in 1991, 1996, 1998, 2009 and 2014.
The Congress fielded M. Veerappa Moily from the constituency twice in 1999 and in 2004 and lost.
The BJP has been retaining its hold over the constituency in the last seven elections from 1991.
The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) had recommended to the central election committee of the party the names of the former Minister B. Ramanath Rai, the former Minister and former Member of Parliament Vinay Kumar Sorake, Rajya Sabha Member B.K. Hariprasad, president of the South Canara District Central Cooperative Bank M.N. Rajendra Kumar and Mr. Mithun Rai from the constituency.
K. Harish Kumar, MLC and president of the Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee, told The Hindu that party president Rahul Gandhi wanted to allot a seat to Youth Congress in the State.
Initially, it was decided to field the president of the State wing of the Youth Congress from Bagalkot constituency. But, finally, that seat had to be allocated to a woman candidate. As Mr. Rai was also an aspirant, Dakshina Kannada seat was selected for the Youth Congress quota. The party also wanted a new face in Dakshina Kannada.
“Now, we are in a better position. He is a consensus candidate,” Mr. Harish Kumar said and added that there was no objection from any party worker or leader to the candidature of Mr. Rai.
It may be mentioned here that the Congress had to conduct a primary to select its candidate for the 2014 Lok Sabha election in Dakshina Kannada. In the primary between Mr. Poojary and Kanachuru Monu, a minority community leader, the former won and contested the parliamentary election.
Mr. Rai is contesting an election for the first time in his political career.