BJP's campaign turns sour in Karwar as villagers ask why MLA was absent from campaigning team

Vartha Bharati | 28-04-2023 | 16:34:00 IST

Karwar: A recent campaign visit by BJP leaders to Bavala in Majali, Karwar taluk, turned sour when villagers asked why their local MLA, Roopali Naik, was absent from the event. Pramod Madhwaraj, former MLA from Udupi, and MLC Ganapathi Ulvekar led the campaign, accompanied by local BJP leaders, but Naik was not part of the team.

The villagers expressed their disappointment that their elected representative had not visited the village in the last five years, except for campaigning in 2018. They also expressed anger that the BJP campaign team included leaders from other districts, but not the local candidate. The villagers demanded that Naik should present herself and campaign for her own votes.

The villagers also questioned the effectiveness of the BJP leaders' campaign work, as no developmental work had been undertaken in the village.

Despite Ulvekar's efforts to pacify the villagers, they refused to attend the BJP convention and listened to the speeches from outside the venue. Congress candidate and former MLA Sathish Sail, who was also campaigning in Majali, referred to the incident in his campaign speech, mocking the BJP for failing to fulfill their duties towards the locals.