It’s do or die for Jayaprakash Hegde in the ‘Battle of the Bunts’

Bengaluru/Mangaluru: The counting of votes on Wednesday will determine who wins the ‘battle of the Bunts’ in Udupi district with Congress candidate Prathapchandra Shetty and Congress rebel Jayaprakash Hegde leaving no stone unturned to swing the verdict in their favour.

For Mr Hegde, it’s a do or die battle after he was defeated in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections by Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Shobha Karandlaje in Udupi- Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency. Winning the Council seat is no easy task for him as powerful Congress leader Oscar Fernandes has a complete grip on party affairs in Udupi. Consecutive defeats for Hegde will virtually seal his fate after his expulsion from the Congress for contesting as a rebel.

A former Janata Parivar leader, Hegde joined the Congress in 2008 and contested from Kundapura Assembly seat but was defeated by BJP candidate Haladi Srinivasa Shetty. He entered the fray from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru parliamentary seat taking on BJP leader D.V. Sadananda Gowda but was defeated again.

After Mr Gowda resigned from the seat, he won the by-election from the same parliamentary constituency in 2012.

Interestingly, Congress veteran Pratapchandra Shetty was instrumental in inducting Hedge into the Congress. “Hegde contested as a rebel so that he can have a suitable reason to quit the Congress. I was not responsible for his defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. He wants us to follow him so that he can become an absolute leader in Udupit”, Mr Shetty told Deccan Chronicle.

Mr Hedge too is confident of winning and said he had received support from the Congress, BJP and even smaller parties.

“Voters in this election are elected representatives who belong to different political parties. They can’t support me openly but they have voted for me”, Mr Hegde said exuding confidence.

Download the all new Deccan Chronicle app for Android and iOS to stay up-to-date with latest headlines and news stories in politics, entertainment, sports, technology, business and much more from India and around the world.