Udupi/Dakshina Kannada/Sivamogga: Around 15 women are sorting cashew nuts at a private factory in Hebri, a small highway town in Karkala, Udupi. There is an eerie silence as these women deftly sort the cashews, most of which will be exported to global markets.
Soon after, they are asked to line up under a tin roof where cashew nuts have been left to dry. Pramod Muthalik, the controversial chief of pro-Hindu outfit Sri Ram Sena, campaigns ahead of the May 10 polls for the Karnataka Assembly elections.
“The (Karkala) MLA has won from here for the last three terms, 15 years, but till date there are no roads, no water… They have focused only on the main roads… Inside the villages, people live in pathetic conditions. I have not come to make money, but to show you how development can be done,” he tells his audience somewhat bluntly.
Muthalik is contesting from Karkala assembly seat as an independent candidate against BJP’s Sunil Kumar, Minister of Energy, Kannada and Culture. Muthalik, once one of the party’s most staunch supporters in Karnataka, now says he is disillusioned with the state BJP administration, citing “increasing corruption and lack of development”.
“There is too much corruption. The victorious MLAs had come on the platform of Hindutva, but have now forgotten it. I am fighting to bring back Hindutva and end corruption.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s brand of Hindutva, mixed with development – called ‘Moditva’ – has wide appeal in the coastal and Malnad districts of Karnataka. In 2018, the BJP won 16 out of 19 assembly seats in the state’s three coastal districts, namely Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
But this time it has changed many of its sitting MLAs in the region.
While most voters in the region are willing to put up with just Hindutva, there are some who want more than just ideological commitment from their elected representatives. ,morangai fair bella hachiurv madri68-year-old Narayan Ragihklu said hebury residentQuoting a Tulu proverb, it said that the BJP has pasted jaggery on the elbows of those who can neither taste it nor see it, but know it is there.
,Nammadu BJP,
It’s 7 in the morning, and two old women are sitting on an empty crate, waiting for their turn to be called for unloading.muru menu’A grouper species of fish found in abundance in Malpe Bandar of Udupi. This fish is one of the largest of its kind found in coastal Karnataka.
Melting snow along with the remains of fish and crab – spread across the concrete floor – add to the stagnant water and the pungent smell of burning diesel.
A few saffron flags are scattered around the port, leftovers from a bike rally the previous day in support of local BJP candidate Yashpal Suvarna, who is also in his fourth term as president of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi District Cooperative Fish Marketing Federation . ,
The BJP has replaced its sitting MLA from Udupi, Raghupati Bhat – accused by locals of being ‘corrupt’ and a person of ‘bad character’ – with Suvarna, who allegedly called hijab-wearing students “terrorists” And in one case a case was registered. abetment to suicide case
As reported in the media, in 2005, Suvarna was also part of a mob that paraded naked a father and son, who were alleged cattle traders.
It is also believed that she was instrumental in fueling the Hijab controversy and promoting cow protection in the region. Speaking to ThePrint, Suvarna said, “Being a Hindu, I am proud to be seen as the face (of the BJP) (in Udupi).”
Meanwhile, asked what the election meant for her, 62-year-old Gulabi, a resident of Malpe, said, “It doesn’t matter who comes to power, we have to struggle every day to survive.”
Another Malpe resident, Sumitra, 61, agreed. “No matter who comes to power, nothing will be achieved for us,” he said.
About 20 meters away, two men are standing and talking near a two-wheeler.
“Fishing is down and prices are down, but diesel rates have gone up. It costs Rs 6 lakh each time the boat goes out for deep sea fishing. And it doesn’t matter what the value of the fish caught is, we have to pay the diesel bill, food for the 10 men on board, and ice to keep the fish. It is like gambling,” said one of the two people, requesting anonymity, adding that he was apprehensive of how his comments would be taken as he is also a full-time worker at the port.
The three Malpe residents ThePrint spoke to are from different economic backgrounds, but support the BJP because they believe it is the only party that stands for ‘Hindutva’. “Nammadu BJP (Our party is BJP),” It is the only party that “protects Hindutva”, he says in Kannada.
“It does not matter who contests from here. The BJP will win,” said Nitin, a 28-year-old Malpe resident who buys and sells fish. Dinesh Shet, a van driver in Udupi said,We have 94(c) (title deed) and some water problems in Kaup, but these areas are BJP strongholds. Modi is also there.
On the support of the BJP in coastal Karnataka, Sharan Kumar (Pumpvel) – the Karnataka southern regional head of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) – told ThePrint that “the question of corruption never arises” here. “Whatever allegations they (candidates) make, workers work hard only on the basis of how much these MLAs have done for Hindutva,” he said.
In April last year, Santosh K. PatilA private contractor and national secretary of a Hindutva organization called Hindu Vahini committed suicide in a hotel in Udupi. In one of his last messages to friends and family, Patil blamed the then Rural Development and Panchayat Raj minister and Shivamogga city BJP MLA KS Eshwarappa for harassing him for a “commission” (bribe) to release payments for road works done by him. was accused of.
“We did not know that our own people would do this to us,” Patil told this reporter a few days before taking the extreme step.
‘Business and Hindutva cannot mix’
The popularity of Modi’s promotion of Hindutva also resonates in areas bordering the three coastal districts. The case pertains to Shivamogga district, where there is an important contest on the Shikaripura seat.
About 175 km east of Karkala, a man in a hard hat waves a red flag to divert traffic to a single lane, while three men brave the scorching sun to lay asphalt on the Shikaripura main highway.
Stepping out of this picture-perfect stretch of road in the direction of any village, and one finds that the postcard-like scene is replaced by mud heaps, a maze of puddles, slush and open drains.
BJP candidate from Shikaripura BY Vijayendra is campaigning in Bhadrapura village, where he is seeking votes in the name of his father and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, his brother BY Raghavendra (Shivamogga MP) for his electoral debut and doing development work. PM Modi’s ‘double engine government’.
One listens to Vijayendra’s speech on rural inclusiveness and development while standing on pothole-prone roads, or coming dangerously close to open drains.
“We have great respect for Yediyurappa, but his workers The party has become a headache,” said Shankarappa, a 60-year-old tea seller from Shikaripura.
Shankarappa alleged that four-time CM Yediyurappa was elected a record eight times from Shikaripura, but BSY occupied major roles, his interactions with constituents were outsourced to party workers and misused for personal gains .
Political affiliations aside, voters say they have other concerns that need to be addressed.
Mohammad Arif (32), a lawyer from Shivamogga city, told ThePrint, “The cost of petrol, edible oil and the general cost of living has increased manifold and it has become difficult for us to manage.
Rangaraj BR, a community health officer from Sringeri in neighboring Chikmagalur, said: “There are neither roads nor electricity supply in our village. BJP keeps promising to fix it but now it is facing stiff resistance.
Most of the locals hold Modi in high regard, but not the local BJP leadership, resulting in a conflict between the core ideology and the desire for development.
“The number of bandhs last year impressed us a lot. This was a problem for most daily wage workers and street vendors,” said Ubaidullah, 37, a garment trader in Shivamogga town.
The intermittent curfew imposed after the killing of Bajrang Dal activist Harsha Jingde in February last year came as a double whammy for small businesses that were yet to fully recover from the Covid-induced lockdown. This also includes pressure from pro-Hindutva groups not to do any business with Muslims.
“I have customers from all communities. I am a BJP worker but cannot choose customers based on my ideology,” said Narayana NS, a food-cart vendor at Gopi circle in Shivamogga city.
While Shivamogga has the distinction of having produced four Chief Ministers of Karnataka – Kadidal Manjappa, JH Patel, S Bangarappa and Yediyurappa – locals here believe that rampant corruption and communal tension have dogged the district, and their By extension, a bad name.
At least 107 communal incidents were recorded in Karnataka between 2020 and 2023, according to a written reply submitted by the home minister to the state Legislative Council on February 13 this year. Of these, 72 incidents were reported from just five districts (Shivamogga, Davangere, Uttara Kannada, Kodagu, Dakshina Kannada) where Hindutva has been a major election plank of the BJP. Union ministers Shobha Karandlaje, CT Ravi, Pratap Simha and Ananthkumar Hegde are some of the prominent faces of the BJP in these parts.
Udupi activist and co-author Phaniraj K. Komuvadada Karala Mukhagalu (The Dark Faces of Communalism)A book documenting narratives on communalism in Karnataka told ThePrint, “Here (coastal districts), the fight is not between the BJP and the Congress. The fight is between Congress and Hindutva.
He said, ‘Whatever performance the BJP has done in the last five years has been washed away by the power of Hindutva. And people have given in as well.
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)