Udupi: The Presidential rule will at last end in Karnataka as the state assembly elections draw to a close. Polling for the 224 seats of the state assembly will be conducted on the 10th, 16th and 22nd of May.

Out of the six constituencies of Udupi District - Kaup, Brahmavar, Kundapur, Udupi, Karkala and Baindur- the big players are the BJP and Congress. In the previous elections, it was the BJP that got the majority in the district. On the other hand, the BSP this time is looking for a positive result through its local candidates. “The BSP has given people a choice other than Congress and BJP. I cannot personally promise anything beyond the manifesto, but we will definitely work towards betterment in my constituency. Being a resident of this area makes me more confident to contest these elections,” said Steven John Menezes, a contestant from the BSP from Constituency 121 (Kaup). Pandurang Padiyar, a resident of Udupi district, said that he was happy with the previous MLA from Udupi and would continue loyalty towards the same political party.

Politically, these elections are really important, nationally as well as at the state level, with even the JD(S) and JD (U) gearing up in full force. In April, the Election Commission urged all the political parties to be Eco-Friendly and use little plastic in their campaigning. The BJP members at the national level are hoping to collaborate with the JD (U), but state members are reported to be completely against this idea.

The effect of the assembly elections hit the student town of Manipal as well. Semester examinations of MU that were to be conducted in this period have now been postponed. Apart from this, the usual round of trucks with loudspeakers and posters doing road shows was also witnessed. “I thought the exams were ending on 19th as per our timetable. I had booked my flight tickets back home for the 19th. But due to this postponing, I had to re-schedule and I lost out on the cancellation fee for my ticket. It was inconvenient,” said Jagswaroop Singh, 1st year, MIC. Many other students have also suffered due to this call for polling. Some students did anticipate the elections however, and waited for the dates to be announced.

The winners, of course, will be decided upon by a public majority and judging by the response of the voting public, there seems to be a strong leaning against a coalition government due to the inefficiency of the previous one.

Sub-edited by Bibhash Dash