With Kannada vs Marathi and controversy over Shivaji statues, the Belagavi war a ‘borderline’ case

As the car drives past Yellur in Belagavi district, one of the first signboards announces ‘Shivaji Chowk’. A little further down is Rajhansgarh Fort, which houses a shiny new statue of Shivaji, inaugurated last month by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai. There is a strategy behind this.

Yellur, which falls in Belagavi district, has a large Marathi population, around 40%. Belagavi, or Belgaum as it was called earlier, has also become a political hotbed of border disputes between Maharashtra and Karnataka.

With 18 seats, Belagavi has become an important district for the assembly elections to be held on May 10. And with Congress giving a tough fight, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party doesn’t want to take any chances.

This is the reason why CM Bommai wants to pacify the Marathas who are dominant in the region. But the strange situation is that the BJP has kept its high profile Maharashtra leaders away from campaigning. Considering Belagavi is just an hour away from the Maharashtra-Karnataka border, the BJP cannot afford to offend either of the states it rules.

After the recent violence in Belagavi, Chief Minister Bommai has tried to calm the anger by assuring that an amicable solution will be found.

But when News18 spoke to two Yellur residents, it became clear that the simmering differences are yet to subside.

The situation came to a boil recently after Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde implemented some of his state’s health schemes in areas like Belagavi.

News18 spoke to two teachers in Yellur. Mahesh and Prakash are originally from Maharashtra. Despite the fact that they have been living in Belagavi for generations, they still consider themselves Marathi.

Mahesh says, “We can’t even speak Kannada. Everyone here speaks Marathi. Behind me are 170 students in Maharashtra High School, who are taught Marathi with Kannada as a second language. We will vote for the party which ensures that official documents are in both Marathi and Kannada.”

Foot dragging by Karnataka government is not right. As one drives past Yellur and Belagavi, several new Shivaji statues can be seen coming up. New boards have also been installed in Marathi. Obviously, this election will be a test of Kannada vs Marathi pride.

But Chandrakant, 67, the president of the popular old restaurant Uday Bhavan, has hope. His establishment serves both Poha, a Maharashtrian dish, and traditional Kannada cuisine.

“I have Kannadaised traditional Maharashtrian dishes like poha and bhakri roti. But politicians fight on borders. There is no border dispute over food. This is Indian food,” he says with a smile as he serves me kunda, a type of pudding that is special to Belagavi.

But will the border dispute and Bommai’s fight to install a Shivaji statue tilt the balance? Because Belagavi with its 18 seats matters.

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