Karnataka polls: What netas of coastal districts have in store for their electorate

Of the 19 seats in coastal Karnataka, the Congress has 13, the BJP 3 and 3 seats have been won by Independents.
People battle for basic amenities like drinking water, irrigation, roads, and better policies. (FIle | EPS)
People battle for basic amenities like drinking water, irrigation, roads, and better policies. (FIle | EPS)

KARWAR/KARKALA/MANGALURU: When it comes to the three coastal districts of the state, the Congress is putting up a battle to retain its upper hand, for the BJP it is all about making a comeback riding high on Hindutva and the JD(S) is simply attempting to make inroads. Of the 19 seats in coastal Karnataka, the Congress has 13, the BJP 3 and 3 seats have been won by Independents (one of who is now with the Congress). While people battle for basic amenities like drinking water, irrigation, roads, and better policies for the fishing communities, here is what the netas of Uttara Kannada, Udupi and Dakshina Kannada have to say about their constituencies, people and agendas ahead of the May 12 Assembly polls.

Sunil Kumar, BJP MLA, Karkala- Udupi

BJP is unabashed about Hindutva being its primary agenda. "Our workers have been under attack in the last five years under the Siddaramaiah government. Cow smuggling is taking place unabashedly, the government is attempting to take over our temples and mutts and cases are being filed against Hindu workers. Hindus won't be taken for granted anymore. People will respond to it in the elections," Sunil Kumar told TNIE as he visited homes seeking support in Yerlapadi village in his constituency — Karkala. The firebrand Hindutva leader is proud of the work he has undertaken in the last five years as an opposition party MLA. "Development is important for us. We have built 35 bridges, 57 vented dams and given records of Rights, Tenancy and Crops (RTC) for 3,000 people in the last five years," he adds to claim that there is no anti-incumbency at the local level. Asked about the ferocious Hindutva push sidelining people of other communities, Sunil Kumar argues that Hindus have been discriminated against by the current government, even in terms of doling out compensation. Sunil Kumar adds that his constituency needs a separate sand mining policy that is currently being curtailed by the Coastal Regulation Zone rules.

U T Khader, Congress MLA, Mangalore, Dakshina Kannada

Messages being spread on WhatsApp and other social media over the last month have become a challenge for Food and Civil Supplies Minister and MLA for Mangaluru U T Khader. "These messages are diverting people's attention from our government's development works and luring them towards communal agendas. It is our responsibility to stop this and highlight the achievement of our government," he said. Recent incidents of communal violence, including the murder of Deepak Rao and Basheer in Dakshina Kannada, have put coastal Karnataka on the burner. All Congress leaders are facing the brunt and Khader is no different. "No one opposes Hindutva, but what kind of Hindutva is the question. We accept Swamy Vivekananda's and Mahatma Gandhi's Hindutva but what they (BJP) are doing is pseudo-Hindutva for the sake of votes and politics," he alleged. Khader credits his government with people-friendly schemes and infrastructure development and hopes that people will vote Congress back to power. "No amount of welfare programmes and funds will bring about development if people are unwilling to change, but in Dakshina Kannada people are smart to understand the difference between development and division," he said.

Anand Asnotikar, JD(S) candidate for Karwar, Uttara Kannada

A popular face in Karwar with a history of being in the BJP as well as the Congress, Anand Asnotikar is now JD(S) only hope of making a significant mark in coastal Karnataka. For the people of Karwar, JD(S) is non-existent but the party is dependent on his familiarity with the voters. Caught between Goa and the much advanced and forward Dakshina Kannada, Uttar Kannada is scrambling with issues of water, irrigation and lack of industries. "We are dependent on government jobs or private firms since there is no agriculture here thanks to lack of irrigational projects. Poverty is very high and financial per capita is very low. We are looking for industries to come here so our youngsters get jobs," Asnotikar, who has earlier represented the constituency as MLA said. While fishing communities on Karwar are unable to compete with their counterparts in Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, Asnotikar says that the stringent CRZ rules are making matters worse. "Most of their land was taken away for Project Seabird and they were displaced and today they can't build new houses because of CRZ rules. We have so much potential to be the revenue giant of Karnataka, but Uttar Kannada has been neglected by even R V Deshpande, who is from this district and has been Industries Minister for nearly two decades," he added. Jobs, hospitals, drinking water, irrigation, and industries are on Asnotikar's to-do list.

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