Karnataka Assembly elections have entered the final lap. The southern state has six regions and the elections in each region are also unique. As part of our special series, News18 reporters travelled to each of the six regions to gauge the pulse of the electorate and give a 360-degree view of which way the political wind is blowing.
Along the breezy beaches of coastal Karnataka, there is a sense of calm. However, beneath the exterior, coastal Karnataka has, over decades, seen a churn of communal politics and violence that has left the region polarised.
The region has been divided over a series of volatile issues that have decided which party will gain ground. So far, communal politics, revenge killings and anti-incumbency have played a role, but this time, the issues are different – boycott of Muslim traders, hijab, halal and azaan rows. The political campaigns of both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress have refrained from the intense communal angle, instead focusing on the caste politics.
On ground, the voters are divided. Those who feel that the hijab issue was important to bring uniformity in education are looking to support the BJP. Those who feel the BJP has touched a raw nerve by forcing Muslim girls to remove their hijab while attending classes may vote against them. Adding a touch of drama is the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which is seeking votes, urging people to oust the “communal BJP" and the “backstabber Congress".
Although a BJP bastion, there is a close fight between the Congress and the BJP, with both the parties hoping that the winds will blow in their favour.
BJP HOPES COASTAL WAVES WILL WIPE OUT CONGRESS
Coastal Karnataka is called the Hindutva laboratory and fortress of the BJP, and the party hopes to keep it. They believe that their poll pitch of a double-engine government, coupled with fresh faces to give GenZ a boost, will help them secure the numbers.
The 2018 elections were fought on emotional lines, where the BJP highlighted its “fight to protect Hindutva and its people", by squarely blaming the Congress for “dragging its feet when six Hindu youths were brutally murdered allegedly by Popular Front of India (PFI) activists". This time, the focus of the BJP has changed and their campaign keywords are ‘development’ and ‘nationalism’.
The BJP is riding on a massive wave of confidence that the hijab issue will not affect their fortunes, rather their approach towards tilting the political rhetoric towards nationalism and development will bear fruit and give them a big lead.
A senior BJP leader who has been tasked with constantly monitoring the party’s election campaigns in coastal Karnataka said that people want “development, development, development! Everything else is cacophony".
The party believes the hijab controversy will have no bearing on the results and they will sweep all 19 seats in the region, which covers Dakshin Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada.
The BJP had won 17 of the 19 seats in the coastal belt, leaving two to the Congress — U T Khader (Mangalore) and Shivram Hebbar (Yellapur). In 2019, along with 17 other MLAs, Hebbar jumped ship to the BJP, leaving Khader as the lone Congress MLA from the region.
The Congress’s campaign pitch includes the “failures of the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government, 40% commission charge of corruption, PayCM and how the communal BJP will only further tear the social fabric of the beautiful, rich and peace-loving coastal Karnataka".
NEW EXPERIMENT: FIELDING FRESH FACES
In its coastal bastion, the BJP sprang a surprise by denying tickets to five of its MLAs, including three senior leaders. Sullia’s sitting MLA S Angara, who has been elected six times, did not get a ticket and was replaced with a new face, Bhagirathi Murulya. Another sitting MLA and senior BJP leader Raghupati Bhat did not make it to the list, as his seat was given to the poster boy of the anti-hijab campaign, Yashpal Suvarna. Sitting MLA Lalaji R Mendon (Kaup) was replaced with Gurme Suresh Shetty, a Bunt community leader; Gururaj Gantihole replaced B M Sukumar Shetty (Byndoor); and a new face Kiran Kumar Kodgi was picked for Kundapur, after his mentor and sitting MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty announced his retirement from electoral politics.
Karnataka’s energy and cultural minister V Sunil Kumar is looking at winning the Karkala seat again, as he takes on Congress’s Muniyalu Uday Shetty. However, the fight for this seat took an interesting turn, when right-wing outfit Sri Rama Sene’s Pramod Muthalik decided to contest. He has pitched his campaign on ‘saving Hindutva and fighting corruption’, the first being the BJP’s agenda and the second the Congress’s poll pitch.
The Congress has fielded six new faces, including former Union Minister Margaret Alva’s son Nivedith from Kumta in Uttara Kannada, M Dinesh Hegde (Kundapur), G Krishnappa (Sullia), and Rakshit Shivaram (Beltahnagdy).
THE HIJAB SHADOW
The controversy surrounding the wearing of hijab in educational institutions is certainly what the voters of the region will keep in mind before they cast their vote, but they say that it is not the “only issue". As News18 spoke to voters, hijab found its way in every conversation.
Haneefa Khannum, a young architect is on her way home to Kapu from Mangaluru City, where she has been working for a couple of years. Sipping on a tender coconut to beat the sweltering humid heat, she waits by a bus stand. Clad in a hijab, she speaks of how she is proud of her attire as it gives her a sense of security.
“I feel safe in it. Our hijab is part of our rights and religion and nobody can point a finger at it. Nobody will tolerate this, no Muslim woman would. This election will teach all those who hurt us a big lesson," she said, requesting not to take her photo as it is against her beliefs.
Many hijab-clad women News18 spoke to echoed Haneefa’s sentiments.
“Restricting us from wearing hijab is an infringement of our religious rights and asking us to remove it in a public place is a violation of our basic rights. Every woman, irrespective of her faith, should keep that in mind before voting," said Shagufta, a homemaker.
Sisters Poornima and Shalini Shetty, who are active members of their college students’ union, say a new face should be picked to better Udupi, instead of communalising it with issues such as hijab. “We need good roads, safety for women, jobs…let’s concentrate on that. The young faces can bring about a definite change," said Shalini.
REVENGE KILLINGS & CASTE POLITICS
There is simmering anger among the BJP workers in the region who feel the party has not done much to protect the footsoldiers — be it the delay in providing justice to the families of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) karyakartas such as Praveen Nettaru, who was murdered in July 2022; or the killing of Deepak Rao in Surathkal in 2018; or Sharath Madiwala, who was hacked to death in July 2017; or Rudresh, who was murdered in broad daylight in Bengaluru in 2016. The karyakartas say they expected more than just announcements and false promises. The BJP has been trying to defuse the anger.
“It’s been six years since my son Sharath was murdered. I have run from pillar to post, but we are yet to get justice and put the real culprits in jail," said Taniyappa Madiwala, who has now built a ‘smaraka’ or memorial for his son as a constant reminder of the need for justice.
In Nettaru’s case, while the investigation, like the other murders, has been handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), his wife has been given a government job and the local BJP unit helped fulfil the RSS karyakarta’s dream of building a new home for the family. BJP’s national president J P Nadda, during his campaign, too, said that the martyrdom of Nettaru will not go to waste. “We will not forget the murders of our brothers. We will get justice for them," Sabha Karandlaje told News18 when asked about the hurt morale of the workers.
However, Nettaru’s killing brought up another issue, which was so far only discussed in hushed voices — how the BJP used the Bilava community (OBC) workers, including Nettaru, to gain ground in the region, but did not reward them with plum positions in the government. Two ministers in the Bommai cabinet represented this community.
To avoid any backlash, the BJP gave four Billavas, including three sitting MLAs and a fresh face, tickets for the polls.
Coastal Karnataka has major say in Karnataka’s politics. Will the tide be in favour of the BJP or will there be a sea change in favour of the Congress? The ballots will tell on May 13.
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