By Manjunath K. Shresthi
March 31, 2026
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The coastal taluk of Ankola in Uttara Kannada (UK) district, northwest Karnataka, witnessed a chilling event last Wednesday (March 25) morning. The Congress party’s former office bearer Gopalkrishna Nayak, was followed by a gang of assailants in a life threatening attempt to murder (ATM) attack. His quick thinking along with his associate, he had a miraculous escape. The popular Congress leader is closely associated with the party’s bigwigs; he’s a familiar face in the corridors of power, and close to Karnataka’s Home Minister Dr. G. Parmeshwar.
Since then rumours have been flying thick and fast, about who were the people who had given ‘Supari’ (contract) to eliminate him? The state of affairs in the Congress party’s politics of Karwar-Ankola’ is an open secret and known to all. Was it a political rivalry against Gopalkrishna, that led to the attack or was it some other issue?
The politics in the assembly constituency has oscillated between the BJP & Congress party since the last three elections in 2013, 2018 & 2023 respectively. The present MLA Satish Sail, is a Congressman. He got elected a second time in May 2023 by defeating the saffron party’s Roopali S. Naik, by a narrow margin of 2000 plus votes. But the MLA has also had ED raids, and was arrested and released later in 2025.
In a Presser held yesterday, MLA Sail’s associate Shambhu Shetty and other local partymen distanced him from the attack.
Is Gopalkrishna Nayak, an MLA aspirant from the Karwar-Ankola’ assembly constituency? And has he decided to take a plunge into the upcoming assembly polls due in 2028?
