Independent candidate Mankal Vaidya wins Bhatkal assembly seat

Bhatkal - It will go down as a historic political upset in the Bhatkal-Honnavar assembly as Mankal Vaidya, an independent candidate raked in 37319 votes to win the seat. Pre election, most observers had written off his fate as a mere vote spoiler and another name in the list of candidates opposing against major political parties. Inayatullah Shabandri also carved a niche for himself as political parties have now taken a note of the minority vote bank with 27,435 votes polled for the JD(S) party, counting in as the second most-popular candidate. The biggest setback came to J.D. Naik from Congress party who landed a dismal fourth position, a poor showing on account of his lack-luster performance as a two time MLA. Shivanand Naik who was hoping to upset major names in the election also had to remain content with a third place in the final rankings as he polled in 26,657 votes. Mankal Vaidya led from the front since vote-counting started earlier today. It will now become interesting to see whether the independent candidate will join the folds of any major political parties in Karnataka. His rise to prominence will capture the attention of political stalwarts who are drawing new conclusions from the election results. Bhatkallys.com congratulates Mankal Vaidya on winning the seat as an independent candidate and wishes him good luck in his pursuit to promote development in Uttara Kannada district.