In coastal belt, BJP banks on Hindutva
POLL STRATEGY RSS affiliates campaign for party by telling voters Hindus ‘suffered’ under Cong, Hindutva should win to ensure peace
MANGALURU: Sitting in the office of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Mangaluru’s Muslim-majority neighbourhood of Ullal, Sharan Pampwell looks determined.
Pampwell heads the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP’S ideological parent, in three districts of poll-bound Karnataka and one of Kerala, known collectively as Dakshina Kannada
“We will see to it that Hindu candidates get elected this time,” Pampwell declares while taking stock of booth-level activities with 15 other workers. “Hindus suffered a lot under Siddaramaiah government.”
Pampwell was the state chief of Bajrang Dal, another affiliate of the RSS, till recently. He claims to have a group of about 3,000 active workers of the VHP and the Bajrang Dal who are toiling to ensure victories for Hindu candidates in a communally charged region that the state’s ruling Congress swept the last time.
The day starts early for these workers. A small group of 5-6 workers is formed and each of them assigned the task of knocking at the doors of about 250-260 houses every day.
What do they tell voters? “Hindutva should win to ensure peace. Else there will be murders of Hindus and incidents such as love jihad that were rampant in the last five years,” Pampwell says.
There has been discontent among some RSS workers over the BJP’S ticket distribution. Supporters of Satyajit Surathkal, the former convener of Hindu Jagaran Vedike, a local Hindu outfit, held protests over him being denied a ticket. Anger also erupted in Puttur after Arun Putthila was denied a ticket. Both were backed by local RSS stalwart Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat.
This disenchantment can hurt the BJP and firefighting has already begun with the party’s joint general secretary BL Santosh, an RSS leader now with the BJP, working overtime.
“The RSS wanted some candidates in that region, but we have to factor in several aspects while deciding candidates. The best candidates have been chosen,” a BJP functionary in Delhi said on the condition of anonymity.
Pampwell echoes that sentiment. “Everything is past now. In our organisation, individuals do not matter. Organisation is supreme,” Pampwell insisted.
Union minister and Dakshina Kannda MP Ananth Kumar Hegde is the Hindutva poster boy in this region and there is talk of him becoming the chief minister in case of a fractured verdict on May 15. Uttar Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel, a two-time-parliamentarian is also a RSS protégé.
The BJP has focused on the murder of 23 RSS-BJP workers allegedly by the Popular Front of India. “Four murders happened in Mangalore alone,” says Pampwell. The electoral battle promises to be intense.
Akhilesh Kumar runs a panshop at Collectors Gate in Mangalore. He migrated from UP three decade ago. “We want the BJP to return to power. The present government is seen as working only for one community,” he says.
Not everyone agrees. “The BJP thrives on religious divide. We will not vote for them,” Abdul Qadir, who runs his own bakery on the outskirts of Mangalore. “There is peace in Mangalore in the last five years,” said Dr S Kakkilaya, whose father BV Kakkilaya was a veteran communist leader of the region. “The five years BJP rule brought bad name to Mangalore.”
The Congress swept Dakshina Kannda district in 2013 election, winning seven out of eight assembly seats and losing one by a margin of 1,373 votes. The BJP won just one out of five seats in Udupi too. That was an election fought in the backdrop of controversy over attacks by a Hindu fringe group, Sri Ram Sene. The BJP was also struggling with factionalism and charges of corruption.
Muslims account for 24 % and Christians 8% of the population in the Dakshina Kannda district. In a direct contest between the BJP and the Congress, the two communities prefer to vote for the latter. The BJP’S victory depends on its ability to consolidate Hindu votes-- nearly 68% in this district. The Congress has two Muslim and one Christian candidates in three seats of Mangaluru city. The BJP has Hindu candidates in all three. “The BJP is wrong in hoping that all Hindus will vote for them,” says JR Lobo, the Congress’ sitting MLA from Mangalore City South. Coastal Karnataka will disappoint them on May 15, he adds.
The votes are yet to be cast, counted and the winners declared. Karnataka goes to polls on May 12 and results will be declared on May 15 for the 224 member assembly constituency. Politicians, however, are never short of confidence. The BJP’S chief ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa is so confident of a win, that he even declared when he plans to take oath as the 23rd chief minister of the state, only to recant the very next day.
No, it was not sudden modesty or any kind of apprehension on the likely outcome of polls that prompted this.
Yeddyurappa, who had initially said he would probably take oath on May 18 or 19, said that he is likely to do so on May 17 because 18th and 19th were declared to be not so ‘auspicious.’
He even declared the number of people (about 3-4 lakh) who would assemble for the ceremony. Will the voters of Karnataka oblige Yeddyurappa’s soothsaying or will Siddaramiah have the last laugh?
YWhile the candidates of major registered parties can contest on the reserved symbol (say Hand for Congress or Lotus for BJP), independent candidates have a tougher task. Unlike in the past when animals and other easily recognisable symbols were available, the Election Commission now releases a carefully curated list of them, for independents to choose from.
This election season, candidates could choose among cup & saucer, sword, biscuit, a saw, nail cutter and a pair of pliers.
Some of the symbols which used to be allotted earlier like fan or a coconut tree have fallen out of favour. This is because at or near the voting station, there cannot be visual representation of a particular candidate. This had lead to extreme situations of fans being covered or dismantled in a polling booth or demands by some candidates that coconut trees near a booth be covered so as not to confer an advantage to an opponent. One attention seeking actor who calls himself ‘firing star’ Huccha (literally, mad) Venkat, who is contesting from Raja Rajeshwari Nagar constituency as an independent, has chosen a pair of sandals as his symbol. To each his own. ou have heard of politicians enriching voters with food, liquor, money even appliances. But one contestant in Karnataka is being accused of using visitation to divine abode to win elections. CS Puttaraju, the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate for the Melukote constituency is being accused of offering voters a round trip to have a darshan of Tirupati Balaji. Voters not only get a free ride on specially arranged buses, but also free accommodation and food. The catch, according to his opponents, is that people who avail this are asked to swear in the name of Lord Venkateshwara that they will vote for him. While some villagers claim to have gone on the trip, the party and candidate say they are doing no such thing. Results day will indicate who has the true blessings of the lord.