Karnataka Assembly Elections 2013: BJP plays Muslim card in coast

Deccan Chronicle

Karnataka Assembly polls: BJP plays Muslim card in coast
DC | Gururaj A. Paniyadi | 17th Apr 2013


Mangalore: Will the ruling BJP stick to its development agenda or return to its old poll tactic— whip up public emotions to polarise society on communal lines in the coastal districts and consolidate its position ahead of the polls?

The ‘divide and rule’ strategy has not helped the party improve its seat position as the figures prove. In Dakshina Kannada district, the BJP tally in the assembly came down from seven (2004) to four (2008). It lost miserably in the urban local bodies (ULB) election winning only one of the seven ULBs in the district.

The possibility of BJP candidates whipping up communal feelings in this election is remote due to the paucity of time, said sources. With the party announcing candidates late, local leaders have had little time to tour their constituencies and would prefer to harp on developmental work than whip up communal feelings.

The last thing BJP candidates like J Krishna Palemar, N Yogish Bhat and S. Angara would like to do is make a hate speech as their constituencies have a sizeable number of Muslim voters. They wo­uld not like to antagonize these communities and lose their support. Even when there the church attacks happened, Muslims were not targetted. It is the secular face these politicians presented which helped them grab a good share of minority community votes. In the 2008 election Palemar managed to win against Mohiyuddin Bava and Yogish Bhat against Ivan D’Souza.

The BJP is also averse to creating social unrest with the party ruling the state. “We have been told to control ourselves as any tension will bring a bad name to our own government,” a RSS leader revealed.

However the situation may change as polling day nears. when the RSS and other saffron outfits start campaigning for the BJP. “Usually, the RSS joins the campaign a week before the election approaching voters with its Hindutva agenda,” sources said.

Surprisingly, Congress leaders who had earlier highlighted the sectarian approach Hindutva organisations had adopted in the region, are not making it a big issue this time. This clearly proves that there is no anti-Hindutva wave in the coastal region, said sources. Even the select­ion of Congress candidates has been trouble-free except for a few exceptions. One will have to wait and watch the strategy the party adopts in the saffron bastion to improve its tally.