BJP's Brijesh Chowta to file nomination papers on April 4; discloses assets

Brijesh Chowta, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha seat, is set to officially submit his nomination papers on April 4.

A rally is expected to be held on the occasion, with BJP leader Annamalai from Tamil Nadu likely to participate.

According to the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers on Thursday, Chowta declared an annual income of Rs. 6,51,590 for the year 2022-23. He listed immovable properties worth Rs. 27,31,365 and heirlooms valued at Rs 80,000. Additionally, he disclosed a debt of Rs. 9,62,010 owed to Canara Bank.

He has deposits of Rs. 90,822 in Union Bank of Mangalore, Rs. 42,618 in Canara Bank, Rs. 499 in HDFC Bank, and Rs. 1 lakh in Canara Bank. He has also invested Rs. 7,20,425 in Oliver Steel Solutions

Chowta also declared ownership of a Toyota Innova valued at Rs. 8,15,001, 137 grams of gold, and agricultural land measuring 152 cents in Ullal taluk. However, it was noted that a case against Chowta is currently under trial in the High Court, stemming from an incident in Mysore’s Nanjangudu police station in 2017.

A Mangalore resident, Chowta graduated from St. Aloysius College with a BSc in 2002 and served as an Army officer in the Gorkha Rifles Regiment from 2003 to 2010. After retiring, he obtained further education from IIM Indore in 2014. Unmarried, he is active on various social media platforms including WhatsApp, X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube.

BJP candidate Kota Srinivasa Poojary  is scheduled to submit his nomination papers for the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Constituency April 3, while Congress candidate K. Jayaprakash Hegde will do the same on April 2. Both candidates are expected to hold meetings before filing their nomination papers. Poojary will convene at the BJP office premises in Kadiyali, while Hegde will address a workers’ meeting at the District Congress Bhawan in Brahmagiri.