A contingent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers hailing from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru region has voiced their appeal to the party's leadership, advocating for the nomination of a fresh candidate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The current Member of Parliament (MP) representing the constituency, Union minister and Karnataka MP Shobha Karandlaje, is encountering opposition from a faction of local BJP workers, who have forwarded their plea to the higher echelons of the party, urging them to withhold the allocation of a ticket to Karandlaje in the forthcoming general elections.
In a recent development, a group of BJP workers hailing from the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency penned a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP chief JP Nadda, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, appealing to them to consider fielding a fresh face from the region for the upcoming electoral contest.
The discontent among certain BJP workers towards Karandlaje stems from their perceived dissatisfaction with her performance during her tenure. As a prominent Vokkaliga leader, Karandlaje currently holds responsibility for overseeing two ministries, namely agriculture and food processing industries.
Notably, Karandlaje faced criticism from members of the fishermen's union within her constituency during a recent meeting concerning the prolonged delay in the completion of a highway segment stretching from Malpe to Udupi. A video capturing the exchange at the meeting subsequently went viral on social media platforms, wherein union members raised pointed questions to the minister regarding the persistent neglect of the three-and-a-half-kilometer highway stretch.
Expressing their frustrations, local leaders confronted Karandlaje, questioning her accountability as a public representative and highlighting the absence of proactive measures to address the longstanding issues plaguing the road infrastructure. The residents, who have endured years of neglect and recurrent accidents on the dilapidated highway stretch, demanded tangible action and transparency from the ministerial office, rejecting vague assurances and emphasizing the need for concrete resolutions to the pressing concerns at hand.
