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HomePoliticsHindutva card pays off for the BJP in communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka

Hindutva card pays off for the BJP in communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka

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Leaders raked up the murders of Hindu activists and the growing Muslim population, while RSS & VHP cadres worked on the ground to swing it the BJP’s way.

New Delhi: Polarising the communally-sensitive coastal Karnataka region appears to have paid off for the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is leading in 16 of the 19 assembly constituencies in this region, while the Congress, which had won 13 seats here in 2013, has been reduced to three.

The BJP played the Hindutva card by raking up the murders of Hindu activists, as well as the growing Muslim population in the region. While the top leadership built the narrative that the Congress government was ‘appeasing’ Muslims, cadres of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its affiliate, the Vishva Hindu Parishad, slogged it out on the ground to ensure victory.

Top state leaders made clear statements against Muslims, while Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party chief Amit Shah kept their focus on the murders and ‘atrocities’ committed against Hindus. Shah went to the extent of alleging that the Congress was giving ‘patronage’ to the ‘murderers of RSS workers’.

“Dear Siddaramaiah, try as much as you can to save the killers of BJP and RSS karyakartas, but as soon as BJP govt takes charge, we will hunt them down even if they are hiding in patal (hell),” tweeted Shah, with the hashtag #AppeasementFreeKarnataka.

Modi even lauded the artist who made the now-famous ‘Angry Hanuman’ poster art, which the Congress criticised. Modi then attacked the Congress for objecting to the poster.

It’s clear that the narrative the BJP built gained sympathy.

Migration or ‘expansionist movement’

Coastal Karnataka consists of three districts – Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada and Udupi.

The geography of the region makes migration from adjoining states like Kerala easy. It is this migration that the BJP attacked.

As Vaman Acharya, spokesperson of the Karnataka BJP put it: “There has been a spurt in Muslim population within a span of four to six months in Manguluru, especially areas attached to Kerala. It’s not just migration. I must reinforce that it is an expansionist movement among the minorities.

“We are not opposing them on the basis of religion, but as a hegemony of a particular community. People have suffered torture at the hands of the Socialist Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which has a majority of Muslims as its followers.”

BJP MP and close aide of B.S. Yeddyurappa, Shobha Karandlaje, had tweeted: “Hindus should vote for BJP else their survival in Karnataka will become difficult as Congress is hellbent in turning Karnataka to Islamic republic. Celebrating Tipu Jayanthi instead of Vivekanand is one of the anti-Hindu acts.”

Wooing religious leaders

Shah had made a three-day tour of the region in February, even before the election dates had been announced. He visited the Kukke Shree Subrahmanya Temple and the Pejawara Matha, as well as the Udupi Sri Krishna Matha. The tour ended with Shah visiting the homes of Hindu activists Deepak Rao and Paresh Mesta, who were allegedly murdered because of their ideology and religion.

Shah had asked people to choose Yeddyurappa as chief minister, “who will track down the murderers of Hindus”.

Siddaramaiah’s sub-nationalism fails

Siddaramaiah had tried to counter the Hindutva card by propagating sub-nationalism through the new Karnataka flag and primacy of the Kannada language. He even gave Lingayats the status of a separate religion, but still couldn’t prevent Hindu consolidation in the BJP’s favour.

The PM himself took the lead in trashing sub-nationalism. It was in one of his rallies in coastal Karnataka that the PM had challenged Rahul Gandhi on the language issue. “Pick a language of your choice – Hindi or Kannada or your mother tongue – without holding a paper in your hand,” he had said.

 

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