Four candidates remain in fray for bypoll to Council from Dakshina Kannada constituency

The final candidates are Kishore B.R. (BJP), Raju Poojary (Congress), Anwar Sadat S. (Social Democratic Party of India – SDPI), and Dinkar Ullal (Independent).

October 7 was the last day for the withdrawal of nominations. The by-election is scheduled for October 21, as per the election officer’s announcement.

The Dakshina Kannada Local Authorities constituency covers both Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts. Therefore, voters from the local bodies of both districts will participate in the by-election. There are 392 polling booths in total, with 6,037 voters. Dakshina Kannada has 234 polling stations with 3,551 voters, while Udupi has 158 stations with 2,486 voters.

In Dakshina Kannada, the election involves voters from 234 local bodies, including Gram Panchayats, the City Corporation, Town Municipalities, Town Panchayats, and members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), Lok Sabha, and Legislative Council (MLCs). Of the 3,580 eligible voters in Dakshina Kannada, 3,551 are currently active members, with 29 vacant seats. In Udupi, there are 158 local bodies, with 2,486 active members out of 2,490 total members, leaving 4 seats vacant.

As this is a two-member constituency Kota Srinivas Poojary from the BJP and Manjunath Bhandary from Congress were victorious in 2021. The current by-election is being held because Kota Srinivas Poojary won the Udupi-Chikkamagaluru seat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, necessitating this by-election.