BANGALORE: Unperturbed by the setback in recent Assembly Elections in five states, the Congress is determined to wrest the Udupi- Chikmagalur Lok Sabha seat from the BJP in the March 18 by-election.After the debacle in Uttar Pradesh, Goa and the Punjab polls, Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi said the party’s next focus would be on Karnataka.The Congress, which was defeated in the previous Karnataka Assembly byelection will make all efforts to win the Udupi-Chikmagalur seat.Congress general secretary and close confidant of Sonia Gandhi and Rajya Sabha member Oscar Fernandes is supervising the party’s campaign in the state.The internal conflict in the BJP, the controversy of ministers watching porn clippings in the Assembly, corruption charges against several BJP ministers and the party’s ‘misgovernance’ seemed to have placed the Congress in a favourable position.All the Congress bigwigs hailing from the state, including Oscar Fernandes, Union Minister Veerappa Moily, and former Union minister Janardhana Poojary seemed to have buried their differences and are working unitedly for the success of party candidate Jayaprakash Hegde. With political careers of several party leaders being dependant on the upcoming by-poll result, the leaders across the districts are making efforts to woo the voters in the constituency.While the Congress expressed confidence to turn the table on the BJP in this election, the task will not be smooth as the Congress represents one seat in the eightmember Assembly segment in the LS constituency.The contest is likely to be between Congress candidate Jayaprakash Hegde and BJP representative Sunil Kumar. Speaking to Express, KPCC president Dr G Parameshwar said all the members were working together to ensure the party’s victory. “The unison among the leaders has boosted the confidence of the party workers which may result in victory,” he said.
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