Will it be Ivan D Souza vs Srikar Prabhu in Mangalore South constituency?

Mangalore, March 22, 2013;

By C D Souza

Though the poll dates for the assembly elections to the state were announced two days ago the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi have been in the election mode for quite some time now.

Following the stupendous success in the elections to the Urban Local Bodies the Congress is sensing blood is going all out to make a comeback in the very citadel BJP where the BJP and the Sangh Parivar have (or had) a strong cadre and ideological voter base.

Having tasted success in the ULB’s the Congress launched its election campaign a few days before the poll dates. It organized a huge thanks giving programme under the pretext of expressing gratitude to the voters. Ostensibly it was an event that launched Congress campaign to the assembly polls to cash in on the anti-BJP wave sweeping across the coastal region which is amply proved by the recently concluded ULB elections.
Now that the elections dates are announced there is a clamour for tickets among hopefuls of both from the Congress and the BJP and hectic lobbying is on from the candidates to try and get favours from party bosses who they feel have a final say in deciding the names of the candidates.
In an interesting development as far as Mangalore City South seat is concerned reliable sources within the congress have confirmed that Congress leader Ivan D Souza has piped another strong contender former bureaucrat J R Lobo for this assembly seat.

It may be recalled that J R Lobo who had taken VRS just to enter politics, has been a strong contender for the ticket and as if to prove this he was recently made Vice President of Dakshina Kannada District Congress. It is said that Ivan’s close rapport with the Bishop has tilted the balance in his favour because Bishop of Mangalore favoured him.

Ronald Colaco, NRI businessman and a strong leader of the Christian community has thrown his might behind J R Lobo and now it is said that he is travelling to Mangalore from Dubai to set things right. Since Ivan is Bishop’s man Oscar Fernandes who might have a final say will favour Ivan, come what may. So, in a way Colaco’s coming all the way from Dubai may not change the situation. Ivan’s candidature has dampened the spirits of many Congressmen especially supporters of J R Lobo who may not work for the party in these elections.
If this is the situation as far as Congress is concerned, in a major development in the BJP rumours are doing that rounds among leaders that the party has decided to field President of Mangalore City South Assembly Committee Srikar Prabhu from Mangalore South replacing four times MLA Yogish Bhat who might be mollified by promising ticket for the imminent Lok Sabha elections. Like Ivan having Bishop’s blessings Srikar Prabhu is said to have the approval of RSS strongman Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, who it is said, has a final say as far as deciding candidates to contest elections.
When contacted Yogish Bhat to know about these developments, he neither denied nor confirmed these rumours. He said “the party would deliberate on the issue and come to a decision about the candidature within a couple of days”.
Discontent has already started brewing within the BJP over Srikar’s candidature especially the authoritarian way in which his candidature is projected.

Naveenchandra, a three time BJP corporator who is upset at the way in which Srikar’s name is floated says “usually in BJP the candidate is chosen based on the reports from the wards. There are 38 wards in Mangalore South who have to decide on a common candidate and that name has to go to the city office and from there to the district and finally to the state. I am not happy with the idea of imposing a candidature without going through the proper procedure of nominating a candidate from lowest ladder. Though Srikar is my friend I feel his candidature should have gone through the proper channel”.
It does not matter whether people like Naveenchandra and other loyal party leaders and workers are unhappy for the simple reason that when K Prabhakar Bhat decides there cannot be a second opinion about it.
The Congress, however, is happy to face Srikar than facing a seasoned Yogish Bhat who is not a charismatic leader or a good speaker. In fact Yogish Bhat is a soft-spoken leader who keeps a low profile but has won four times because of BJP-RSS cadre roots in this part of the coastal region.
The Congress is riding high following the ULB results and it feels that the trend is in its favour. So much so, there is feeling in the party especially among the sizeable Catholic population that their vote can make or mar a party’s fortune and that it might be cakewalk for the Congress. Hence they feel any candidate might be able to win against the BJP in Mangalore South constituency in the coming assembly elections. This impudence might prove disastrous for Congress because BJP may be down but not out at least in these coastal pockets.
Of course, the ULB elections were a different ballgame where local issues dominated. Moreover, BJP voters who were crestfallen with their own party’s performance did not come out and vote for anyone. But if the BJP really works hard and fight to its fullest it may not be easy for the Congress to make a grand come back.