Belagavi, Hubli (Karnataka): Darshan Hebbare, 27, works at a sweet shop in Khade bazar, Belagavi. He was preparing for government recruitment examinations after completing a BCom degree. Unable to qualify, he started working as a salesperson in the store to support his family financially after his father passed away. He earns Rs 12,000 per month.
Hebbare isn’t happy that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded former chief minister Jagdish Shettar from the Belagavi seat but will vote for the saffron party because he watches the “news” and “videos” and believes that the country has “developed” under the prime minister.
“It is the educated people who support Modi. The uneducated don’t understand that the country is developing. I watch videos and news on my phone. I am aware. I know that the quality of education is improving and the nation is developing. How will the uneducated understand all this?” Hebbare says as he starts his day’s work. “Voters should not be selfish. They should see how the nation is improving. We shouldn’t vote only for our own benefit. For making the baap (Modi) win, I will support the beta (Shettar).”
Darshan Hebbare (L) with other workers at the sweet shop where he works in Belagavi. Photo: Tamanna Naseer
Echoing similar sentiments, Pundalik Krishna, 28, asserted that the Army is getting support and the stature of the nation has improved under Modi. “Modi is good for Hindus. Congress supports only Muslims. For our safety, BJP should be in power. I watch news daily so I know what Modi is doing for the country.” When asked if he watches local news or national media. Krishna mentioned that he watches “both”, reiterating that it is “daily”. He drives an auto and has studied till Class 10.
Against Shettar, the Congress party has fielded Mrinal Hebbalkar, state minister Laxmi Hebbalkar’s son, in the Belagavi constituency. As Shettar belongs to Hubli, this contest is touted as an outsider versus insider election. Initially, after his name was announced, the local BJP cadre protested and “Go back Jagadish” banners were seen in the city.
Dismissing the BJP’s theory that the Congress party is pro-Muslims, Mrinal Hebbalkar said, “Congress is a secular party, it gives importance to all communities and religious beliefs equally.”
“He (Shettar) didn’t do any work in Hubli. They have given us a candidate who was rejected in Hubli. Couldn’t they find any local leader here?” asked Ganapati V. Chavannavar, 44, who had voted for the BJP in the Lok Sabha polls in 2019 and the legislative elections last year but prefers to back the Congress candidate this time. “Do you realise all the BJP candidates are saying Modi should be made prime minister for the third time? Okay, I agree with that. But why aren’t they saying what work they will do? Why aren’t they saying that they will solve our problems? Tomorrow if we ask them for something, they may turn and say you voted for Modi and not for any issue, so don’t trouble us.”
Another resident of Kashbagh, which falls under the Belagavi South assembly constituency, expresses similar fears. “Why will Shettar develop Belagavi. Whatever projects he gets as an MP, he will divert it to his home district obviously. When we have any issue, can we go to Hubli to meet him? The BJP didn’t select the right candidate for us,” Bharthi G., 36, said.
Jagadish Shettar addressing a poll meeting in Belagavi. Photo: Special arrangement
While the Congress party has fielded young candidates in Belagavi, Chikkodi and Dharwad constituencies, the BJP has relied on experienced leaders. Contrastingly, the voter preferences don’t match this trend. The older voters are seemingly backing the Congress party primarily due to guarantees, their will to give a chance to new faces and work of local leaders like Laxmi and Satish Jarkiholi — whose children are contesting — and trust on chief minister Siddarmaiah. Those who are relatively young are supporting the BJP due to the “development” and “Hindu” factors.
The grand old party has fielded Priyanka Jarkiholi in the Chikkodi seat against BJP’s Annasaheb Shankar Jolle, who is facing severe anti-incumbency. In Dharwad, the saffron party has renominated four-time MP and Union parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi against Kuruba leader Vinod Asuti, considered close to Siddaramaiah. The constituency is dominated by Lingayats and also comprises a sizeable number of minority, Pattegars, Brahmins and Kurubas.
There was severe infighting in the Belagavi and Chikkodi units of the BJP as there were other contenders for the tickets from these constituencies.
“Nothing like that. We have gone for campaigning [of the BJP candidate]. I have canvassed for Jolle in Chikkodi town and other areas as well. There’s nothing like that. We are together,” Mahantesh Kavatagimath, former chief whip of the BJP in Karnataka Legislative Council, said, dismissing the internal conflict rumours. Kavatagimath and former MP Ramesh Katti were also lobbying for the Chikkodi seat.
Hate mongering
The right-wing ecosystem has managed to create a sense of fear among the Hindus and projected Modi as a saviour for the community. In Chikkodi constituency, young boys spoke about absurd theories of how the number of mosques has increased in recent years and Hindus can’t even “do anything”. A first-time voter suggested that he has heard Siddaramaiah will start “a new type of terrorism”. When he was asked to explain further, he said, “Have you seen The Kerala Story. Like there are terrorists in Afghanistan and other countries, they (Congress) are trying to do something similar.”
Many individuals in the 18-30 age bracket asserted that “a Hindu will support a Hindu”. They dismissed the fact that not just the BJP, but the Congress party has also fielded a Hindu candidate with the remark, “But whom do they support?” With easy access to the internet and ample time due to underemployment in most cases, the young voters don’t miss any viral memes, political advertisements and speeches of the politicians and believe that “vote jihad” is a reality.
Saffron flags at a busy junction in Hubli. Photo: Tamanna Naseer
The Washington Post in a special story in September 2023 on Karnataka’s state assembly elections where the Congress defeated the BJP, reported on how the BJP was working on “incendiary posts designed to go viral on WhatsApp” with “posts aimed at exploiting the fears of India’s Hindu majority, and detailed how they had assembled a sprawling apparatus of 150,000 social media workers to propagate this content across a vast network of WhatsApp groups”.
“Modi is throwing up imaginary and false narratives, and the youth are falling into his trap. They are becoming radical Hindus and I won’t even call them nationalistic Hindus. Modi is not able to deliver economic good, so he is reproducing the narrative on majoritarianism – that its property would be distributed, minorities are enjoying the benefit of reservation at the cost of OBCs, etc. and the youth are falling into this ideological trap. Religion creates a sense of Hindu pride and fear among the majority,” Professor Muzaffar Assadi of the University of Mysore said.
Surprisingly, noting the saffron party’s communal agenda, a BJP booth worker in Belagavi South — a stronghold of the BJP — explained why the Hindu-Muslim divide is not good for society. “The focus should be on the poor. Hindu-Muslim shouldn’t be the focus of our party. I want the leadership to understand this. Already there are issues and people are divided. The situation will deteriorate and there will be trouble which won’t be manageable if the divide continues on the basis of religion,” Vinayak Chavannavar, 39, said.
Posters of Neha Hiremath are visible across Hubli. Photo: Tamanna Naseer
In Dharwad constituency, the posters of Neha Hiremath, 23, who was recently murdered by Fayaz Khondunaik, 23 — alleged to have been in a relationship with her — are plastered on electric poles outside the Hubli airport with the message “Justice to Neha Niranjan Hiremath”. The murder is being termed as an instance of “love jihad” by the BJP. Neha’s father was an ex-Congress corporator and politicians across party lines, religious leaders (both Muslims and Hindus) and media personalities are paying the family visits since the incident took a political turn. The Siddaramaiah government has handed over the case to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
While political observers suggest that such murders aren’t uncommon in the region, the fact that individuals from two different communities are involved has complicated the matter. Moreover, communal tension in Hubli has been on the rise since the 1990s as right-wing groups started demanding the tricolour be unfurled in the city’s Idgah Maidan and even asked for a Ganesha pandal to be put up on the Idgah ground.
As Joshi looks to win for a record fifth time, the Congress party is putting up a spirited fight and creating momentum among the rural voters by pushing its guarantees.
Caste calculations
Out of the ten MPs elected from the Belagavi Lok Sabha seat since 1957, including incumbent Mangala Angadi — seven were Lingayats. In the 2023 assembly polls, the Congress won five and the BJP won three of the eight assembly segments under Belagavi. There’s a dominant Lingayat and Marathi speaking voter population and a sizeable number of Muslims, Kurubas and SCs and a small section of Jains in this constituency — three MLAs are Lingayats, two are STs, one Muslim, one Jain and one Brahmin.
In the eight assembly segments of Chikkodi constituency, five MLAs are Lingayats, two are SCs and one is an ST — five of eight MLAs are from the Congress party while three are from the BJP. The BJP candidate belongs to the Lingayat community while Priyanka is an ST. A section of the Lingayat voters are miffed with the BJP for ignoring the district during the floods in recent years. Hence, the Congress party will likely make some inroads in the BJP’s Lingayat vote base here. The question is will the Congress party manage to garner votes from some of the Marathi speaking voters who traditionally support the BJP.
Karnataka women and child development minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar addressing voters in the presence of Congress leader Rajeev Gowda, Chikballapur MLA Pradeep Eshwar and Belagavi Congress nominee Mrinal Hebbalkar. Photo: Tamanna Naseer
Similarly, for the Dharwad seat the BJP has fielded a Brahmin, incumbent MP Joshi, while the Congress is aiming to consolidate the AHINDA voters by fielding an OBC. In a polarised atmosphere, the Congress experiment to field a non-Lingayat in Dharwad is a high-risk strategy. However, Lingayat seer Dingaleshwar Swami’s protest against Joshi is hurting the saffron party’s prospects as well.
Waiting for a bus after finishing their day’s work in Chikkodi, a group of daily-wage workers expressed their gratitude for the Congress party for the free bus ride and money which allows them to live a “comfortable life” questioning “on what basis Modi is expecting” their vote and “what has he given” them. Another woman adds, “But the Siddaramaiah government should also increase the number of buses. We have to wait for a long time. It gets delayed and we reach home late and cook late.” On their vote preference, they said, “Congress, of course.”
“This election, the Congress has created a new form of social narrative — Mahinda — Mahila (women), Alpasankhyataru (minorities), Hindulidavaru (backward classes) and Dalitaru (Dalits). A section of the women voters irrespective of caste are backing the Congress party because of their work,” Assadi said.
