Not Manohar Parrikar's son, former MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar gets BJP ticket for Panaji bypoll

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday announced a list of three candidates for bye-elections to Chincholi and Kundgol Assembly constituencies of Karnataka and Panaji Assembly seat in Goa. While former MLA Siddharth Kunkolienkar bagged the BJP ticket for Panaji Assembly bypoll, Abhinash Jadhav and SI Chikkanagowdar will be in the fray from the Chincholi and Kundgol Assembly segments in Karnataka.

"BJP releases list of candidates for bye-elections to 2 legislative assembly constituencies of Karnataka and 1 of Goa; Sidharth Kuncalienker to contest from Panaji, Avinash Yadav from Chincholi and SI Chikkanagowdar from Kundgol," the news agency ANI reported along with the list of BJP candidates for legislative Assembly bypolls in Goa and Karnataka.

BJP releases list of candidates for bye-elections to 2 legislative assembly constituencies of Karnataka & 1 of Goa; Sidharth Kuncalienker to contest from Panaji, Avinash Yadav from Chincholi & SI Chikkanagowdar from Kundgol pic.twitter.com/6sIIpAltYL

— ANI (@ANI) April 28, 2019

The bypolls to all the Karnataka and Goa assembly segments will be held on May 19, coinciding with the last phase of the Lok Sabha elections. The counting of votes will be taken up on May 23, along with that of the parliamentary polls scheduled to be held between April 11 and May 19.

The byelection to Chincholi segment in Kalaburagi district has been necessitated owing to the resignation of Umesh Jadhav from his Assembly membership. Whereas Kundgol is going to polls following the death of Karnataka Municipal Administration minister and three-time MLA from the constituency C S Shivalli in March.

On the other hand, bypoll to Panaji Assembly seat was necessitated as it fell vacant after the death of sitting MLA and former chief minister Manohar Parrikar on March 17.

While speculations have been rife that late Goa chief minister Manohar Parrikar’s elder son Utpal Parrikar would be given a ticket for Panaji, the statement on the BJP’s website about Kunkolienkar’s candidature put an end to it.

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Speaking to news agency ANI on Kunkolienkar's candidature, Utpal said, "From day one I was saying that I'll work for the candidate decided by the party. My name was sent to central leadership because of some workers".

Interestingly, Kunkolienkar had won the Panaji seat in the 2017 Assembly elections before vacating it on May 10 in the same year, paving the way for Parrikar to contest and enter the 40-member Goa Legislative Assembly.

Parrikar, who was then Union defence minister, was brought back to helm the state government after the BJP fell short of a simple majority and had to ally with other parties like Goa Forward Party and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party, as well as Independents.