KARWAR: The Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency has assumed significance, thanks to the entry into the fray of high-profile leader Margaret Alva as the Congress candidate.
Whether Alva will be able to win the constituency back for the party, which has of late supported the BJP, is the most debated question in the constituency these days.
Till 1996, the constituency had been considered a strong fort of the Congress.
The party had won this parliamentary seat nine times in the past. 1996 saw the emergence of the BJP as a strong political force in the constituency. Since then, the BJP has won all the parliamentary elections here except in 1999.
Nature’s bounty unharnessed
Uttara Kannada may be described as a rich land with poor people. Comprising of eight Assembly segments including Kittur and Khanapur of Belgaum district, the constituency is blessed with nature’s bounty. It is a land of silvery beaches, serpentine rivers, enthralling waterfalls, verdant hill sides and forests. There are wildlife sanctuaries and also a tiger reserve in the constituency. A number of power projects including the Kali hydel power project, Sharavati tail race project and Kaiga nuclear power station, have been meeting almost half of the state’s power requirements.
Yet, the constituency is backward industrially. There are only two major industries in the entire constituency. The constituency also suffers from inadequate educational and health facilities. There are only two engineering colleges. A medical college is still a distant dream. There is no super-speciality hospital at all in the constituency.
Congress puts up united face
Margaret Alva, the Congress candidate, has entered the fray with a new vigour. The situation in the Congress is much different than in 2004. There appears to be unity among the leaders this time. Alva no more views Deshpande as her rival in the party. Being the KPCC president, it is imperative for R V Deshpande to work for Alva’s victory.
He looks composed although his son, Prashant Deshpande, was denied the party ticket.
Alva has established a good rapport with all 13 block Congress committee presidents and the panchayat members of the party. It is evident from the fact that all of them have been taking part in the campaign vigorously. Her strategy is to woo women and youngsters. She claimed during the campaign that she had fought for 33 per cent reservation for women in panchayats. She promises the establishment of an independent marketing system exclusively for women to sell products manufactured by women’s self help groups and the starting of a women’s bank. Alva assures that a medical college will be set up in Uttara Kannada district, if she wins the election.
She also tries to gain the sympathy of the electorate by saying that she is already 67 and this is the last election for her. Alva is more sophisticated and learned. She has made a name for herself in national and international fora. She was also honoured with an honorary doctorate by the University of Mysore in 1989. The government of South Africa felicitated her with the prestigious award named after Nelson Mandela, for her support during the freedom struggle in that country. Alva represented India in various committees of international bodies like SAARC and UNO. It is a different question whether all these credentials can help her win the election. However S Bangarappa, the former CM, who rejoined the Congress recently, has a large following in the district. This is considered to be an added advantage for the party.
JD(S) an also ran?
JD(S) has limited presence in the constituency. Its area of influence is confined to Haliyal and Kumta Assembly segments and some parts of Kittur.
JD(S) candidate V D Hegde, who was once a close supporter of R V Deshpande, learnt all nuances of politics from him. However, except in Haliyal, he is not known much elsewhere in the constituency.
He believes that the good work of the party president in the state, H D Kumaraswamy, during his tenure as chief minister, would fetch him votes.
Problems galore
There are other more pressing problems here. Over 30,000 families have encroached forest land for cultivation. The regularisation of the encroachment has been delayed unnecessarily, despite the amendment to forest rules in this regard. Over 4,500 families affected by Karwar Naval Base are yet to get compensation as decided by the court.
The beaches face the severe problem of sea erosion. However, no concrete steps have been taken so far to arrest the erosion. While the Ankola-Hubli railway project is in doldrums, survey is yet to commence for the Talguppa- Honnavar railway project. Many tribal communities, including Halakki Vokkals, Kunubis and Gowlis, have not been included in the Scheduled Tribes list yet. The border taluks of Joida, Khanapur and Karwar remain neglected.
The fisheries ports in Uttara Kannada district remain neglected affecting fishing activities.
The upghat taluks are known for spices and nuts. They have been demanding minimum support price for their produce since long, but the same has not been forthcoming. Khanapur is the sugar belt of the constituency.
The voters of Khanapur are weary of the promises made by successive governments to reopen the Bhagyalakshmi sugar factory, which was closed long ago.
The people of Kittur complain that the place has not been accorded the status of a taluk so far. Although Kittur Development Authority has been established, it remains under-developed.
BJP a divided house
However, things do not seem to be as simple as they look for the BJP. The party is a divided house today. While one group supports Hegde, the other opposes him, a fact denied by the party leaders. There are leaders like Shivanand Naik (former minister) in Bhatkal, Shashibhushan Hegde and Madan Naik in Kumta and Vivekanand Vaidya in Sirsi to name a few, who are in the rival camp. Many party workers too are not happy with Hegde for what they term as his harsh behaviour.
However, Hegde looks unperturbed. As an advocate of Hindutva, he has the backing of the Sangha Parivar. Also, Hegde’s recent outburst against the minority community is not taken well by the intellectual community in the constituency.
Though there is no good rapport between Anantkumar Hegde and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, as a minister it has become inevitable for Kageri to participate in the election campaign, a BJP leader said on condition of anonymity. Similar is the case with Anand Asnotikar, Minister for Fisheries. However it is the party rather than the candidate that matters more, he says.
The early bird
BJP candidate Anantkumar Hegde, exudes confidence of continuing his winning streak this time too. Hegde had the advantage of commencing his election campaign much before the candidates of other parties, since his candidature was declared almost a month ago. He capitalised on it and launched his campaign by arranging ‘Mane Habba’ (home festival), immediately after his nomination as party candidate. He invited two prominent seers, Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji of Ramachandrapur Mutt and Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji of Sonda Swarnavalli Mutt on the occasion. The two Swamijis, who rarely see each other face to face, blessed Hegde on the occasion giving a clear message to the people that Hegde deserved re-election.
The Muslim factor
Muslims have been the traditional voters of the Congress.
However, a section of Muslim voters is angry with the party now.
They complain that the party has neglected the community.
The district united Muslim forum has fielded Rehamatullah Khaji as an independent candidate.
However, his candidacy has no approval from all sections of Muslims.
As such Khaji is unlikely to affect the prospects of Alva in the election. Similarly Shiv Sena candidate, Guruv, who hails from Khanapur is known only in Khanapur and nowhere else.
Although Khanapur is dominated by the Marathis, they are likely to favour the BJP and not Shiv Sena, it is observed.
