Bangalore: It has been 25 years since senior Congress leader B Janardhana Poojary won the polls in the Dakshina Kannada parliamentary segment. The BJP has been doggedly guarding its coastal Karnataka fort since 1989, never giving the Congress an opportunity to represent the region in Parliament. This time Poojary might have an outside chance of a victory in the communally sensitive seat, but this, party sources say, only if he manages to keep his mouth shut.
The BJP, the RSS to be more specific, has lost some of its hold here in the last few years. During the five years of the party’s regime in Karnataka, the Dakshina Kannada region turned into a hub of moral policing and communal attacks. Most of the attackers allegedly were foot soldiers of the RSS or fringe organisations supported by it – mainly from Mogaveeras, the fishermen community. However, after the BJP lost power in the state, the boys were left in the lurch, fending for themselves in criminal cases.
This triggered panic button among another backward community, Idigas, who were also among the supporters of the RSS. Fighting for Dakshina Kannada. Reuters Meanwhile, the Bunt community, which was not given due representation in the government, was also unhappy with the BJP. Consequently, during the 2013 elections to the assembly, the BJP lost from seven out of the eight assembly seats in the parliamentary segment of Dakshina Kannada. The only BJP leader who won was SS Angara from Sullia constituency.
During the 2009 parliamentary elections, the BJP fielded a Bunt – Naleen Kumar Kateel, a staunch RSS worker in the constituency and he won by a comfortable margin. While the strong RSS base helped him win the last election, this time, Kateel is banking only on the ‘Modi wave’ to sail through. Poojary, with the backing of seven party MLAs in the constituency, is hoping to turn the tide.
Besides, the caste configuration of the BJP, which is largely handled by RSS, is shaky and the party is depending solely on the ‘Modi wave’ to retain the parliamentary seat. Though the Bunts have sunk their differences with the BJP, the Idigas and Mogaveeras are still apprehensive. The two communities are waiting till the last date to decide if they want Modi to see as the prime minister or safeguard their youth from being used by the Sangh Parivar.
However, the Congress is facing a different type of problem. While the campaign has been smooth for them, they are apprehensive about Poojary shooting off his mouth. Poojary is known for jabbering whatever comes to his mind and it has landed him in awkward position many times. This has also antagonised vote clusters, leading to his or his party candidate’s defeats. This time, the Congress leaders are trying to keep him silent.
The demography of Dakshina Kannada constituency has witnessed ocean of change in the last four decades. The constituency comprising Vokkaligas, Bunts, fishermen and Billava communities along with other SC/ST communities, started witnessing steady influx of Beary Muslims. The Bearys, who started with small roadside tea stalls across the Dakshina Kannada district, slowly graduated into other businesses and developed new settlements in forest fringes. When M Veerappa Moily became the chief minister, he gave them voting power and regularised their settlements.
The steady demographical growth of Beary Muslims and their integration into the economy of the region instilled a sense of insecurity among the local Hindus, and it turned the region into a communal battleground. This also took a political color with Congress backing Muslims and the BJP slowly eyeing the Hindu vote bank.
The RSS was the first to take advantage of the situation by recruiting boys from the region as its volunteers. While the fishermen community people became the foot soldiers, the Idiga community representatives, who are considered to be higher than them, were placed above.
The dominant Bunts were supervisors, while the Pracharaks handled every one. The trouble started during the BJP governance, when moral policing and attack on churches reached peak in the state. Most of the youths, who were in forefront of these attacks belonged to Mogaveera or Idiga communities.
After the attacks, neither the government, nor the Sangh Parviar was in a position to defend them. Consequently, the two communities felt let down and are now seem inclined towards Poojary. But whether they repose faith in Kateel or Modi will be known once the results are declared.