A BSP-JD(S) alliance Dalits of Hassan find tough to digest
HOLENARASIPURA: Sixty-yearold Thayamma can’t believe that Mayawati’s Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) has tied up with the Janata Dal (Secular), JD(S), of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
“No, no, you’re mistaken. Mayawati has aligned with the Congress and not the JD (S),” she insisted, before finally being convinced by neighbours that the BSP-JD (S) alliance for the May 12 Karnataka assembly election is indeed a fact.
The reason for her incredulity is that BSP claims to be a staunchly pro-dalit party and the JD (S), perceived by Dalits in Hassan district, of which Holenarasipura is a part, to be representing the interests of the powerful, dominant, land owning, upper caste Vokkaligas.
“Don’t people know what happened here just two years ago? If not for the police, we would have been killed that day,” said Thayamma, standing in the centre of a Dalit settlement in Sigaranahalli village, in Hassan.
On April 1, 2016, a meeting between district officials, Dalits and the Vokkaligas of the village over allowing Dalits to offer prayers at the local Basaveshwara temple turned acrimonious.
“Suddenly, the Vokkaligas began attacking us, and they even pelted stones at the police, injuring the superintendent of police. Would this have been possible without the support of the MLA?” Thayamma asked. After that incident, the Vokkaligas boycotted the temple, Thayamma said. “They have even ostracised God.”
The alliance between JD(S) and BSP has been hailed elsewhere in Karnataka, but the two parties are seen to be strange bedfellows by Dalits in Hassan, where caste identity is a strong factor.
Sigaranahalli is located about 2km from Haradanahalli, where JD(S) chief Deve Gowda was born. And the district has been a stronghold of the Vokkaligas in general, and the JD(S) under Deve Gowda in particular.
Sigaranahalli is part of the Holenarsipura constituency, whose sitting legislator is Deve Gowda’s elder son HD Revanna. In 2013, the JD(S) won five of the seven seats in the district.
Last year, Hindustan Times reported that four Dalit men were tied to a tree trunk using metallic hooks drilled into their backs and were made to rotate as part of the Sidi ritual during the biennial fair of Hariharpur village. Raju, a local Dalit activist, said a memorandum had been submitted to the district administration. “But the Vokkaligas would have none of that. They pressured the Dalit men to give their consent to take part in the Sidi,” he said.
This, Raju said, was a result of the success scored by Dalits in Sigaranahalli.
“We had clearly put them on the back foot because we had entered the temple against their wishes and we held out. So, the Hariharpur fair was used as a signal to us that they are the ones who still HD Revanna, JD(S): 92,713 votes
SG Anupama, Congress: 62,655 votes have power,” Raju said.
Chief minister Siddaramaiah has selected the former president of the government employees’ union, BP Manjegowda, to contest the seat. Manjegowda’s campaign plank is to stop discrimination against Dalits.
To be sure, among followers of the JD(S), loyalty to the party remains strong. Thimmegowda, a local JD(S) worker in Sigaranahalli, said there was no question of voting for anybody else.
“I will not betray the JD(S) just because of some complaints. I have always stood behind the party and will continue to do so, no matter whoever is the JD(S) candidate,” he said.
THE INCREDULITY IS BASED ON IMPRESSION BSP AS A PRODALIT PARTY AND JD(S) OF POWERFUL, DOMINANT, LAND OWNING, UPPER CASTE VOKKALIGAS