Anand Asnotikar Most likely JD(s) candidate against Union Minister Anant Kumar Hegde from Uttara Kannada

Karwar 15 March 2019:(Bhatkallys News Bureau) Cong-JD(S) on Wednesday announced their pact for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with JD(S) bagging as many as 8 seats from the 28 constituencies in the state while Congress will contest on 20 seats in the state. To make sure the coalition is made on good terms, Congress also gave up the Tumkuru seat where it has a sitting MP. The pact was made between Rahul Gandhi and JD(S) national secretary Danish Ali in Kochi on Wednesday. In the pact an important constituency represented by hardcore Hindutva face and union minister Anant Kumar Hegde, Uttara Kannada was also ceded to the JD(S). Although names of Prashant Deshpande and Nevdith Alva both coming from strong political background was doing rounds, but much to the surprise of all the Constituency was bagged JD(S) where the party has never been able to win any election. Now that the constituency has been allocated JD(S), one face from the party whose name has been doing rounds to contest against Anant Kumar Hegde is Anand Asnotikar. And rightly he seems the only face in the district right now with political stature to at least put a fight against a MP who has been undefeated in the last five LS Elections. Asnotikar who was in the BJP camp earlier, joined JD(S) in January 2018, in the run up to Karnataka Assembly Elections and has since emerged as the party’s strongman in the district. Asnotikar has a sizeable fan following in the constituency but matching up to the stature of Hegde is in itself a challenge for any leader in the constituency. Many believe if Asnotikar gets to contest the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections from JD(S) it will decide his political future. Asnotikar lost 2013 assembly polls to independent candidate Satish Sail from Karwar and was largely inactive from politics for four following years before getting into BJP came in 2018. JD(S) hoped to make inroads with him in the Uttara Kannada district where it had no base and handed him the ticket only to lose again, this time to BJP when the saffron party swiped Coastal Karnataka, winning 16 off 19 seats. Speaking to Bhatkallys.com a close source of JD(S) high command added that Asnotikar is the ‘Most likely’ candidate to be handed the onus of contesting against Anant Kumar Hegde, a battle that can potentially end his political career. Rumors were also doing round that former PM HD Devegowda, will contest from the Uttara Kannada constituency after giving up his long-time seat of Hassan for his grandson. But given the less number of Gowda’s (JD(S)’s main vote bank) present in the constituency, it is unlikely the former PM will stake his political reputation by contesting against a premiere leader of BJP who enjoys the ‘Hindu confidence’. (Bhatkallys News Bureau)