UDUPI: The anger over the government’s inadequacy in tracing the eight fishermen who went missing in December 2018 is still a hot debate in the port of Malpe. A section of the fishermen in the region that falls under Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency, are adamant about boycotting elections. “No party has ever cared for the fishermen community. We work and feed ourselves. The least they can do is at least trace our missing men,” said Malpe Appi, leader of a fisherwomen’s self-help group.
For the rest of the fisherfolk, it is a choice between Shobha Karandlaje — their ticket to elect Narendra Modi once again as Prime Minister and Congress leader Pramod Madhwaraj, who is contesting on a JD(S) ticket.
With BJP MLAs in seven of the eight assembly sections and Congress in one, the JD(S) is a virtual nobody in the region. The lack of popularity of the JD(S), coupled with the nationalistic fervour and favour for Narendra Modi, is proving to be a challenge for the JD(S)-Congress combine. Chandra Shetty, a resident of Karandad in Kaup is convinced that the candidate barely matters.
“The people are interested in who will come to the power at the Centre,” he points out. Shetty’s neighbour Prakash Poojari isn’t as subtle. “We want Narendra Modi to return as Prime Minister. We will vote for the BJP so he comes back to power, even if we don’t like the candidate personally,” he says. The voters have barely seen incumbent MP Shobha Karandlaje in the last five years but that doesn’t matter to his joint family of 16 people.
In the war of nationalistic fervour furthered by Hindutva, minorities and Dalits are the dejected lots in this constituency. Akbar Ali, a resident of Kaup is convinced that Congress is as bad as a rightist BJP. “They neither give us representation nor a voice. Now, it looks like anybody other than the Congress is agreeable,” he said. A visit to Rajve Nagar SC/ST colony in Udupi will reveal the water crisis citizens face every day.
Every utensil in the house is used to collect water that is released once in three days. “My daughter is an MCom graduate but there are no government jobs for her. She has to settle for a minor account job in a glass factory in Udupi,” pointed out Thimma G, a resident of the SC/ST colony. Most women in the colony work as househelps, cooks and at bangle factories. Men settle as labourers since there are no organised sector jobs. “I have volunteered for parties in the past but the moment the ballot is cast, they forget about us,” pointed out Jagadish J, a voter in the locality.
Beedi rolling is a popular part-time job for many women in Kalgudde-Padur of Kaup who earn a meagre Rs 150 per day. Bus services to this village were stopped two years ago. Having to shell out a lot of money for auto rickshaws or having to walk 2 km to the closest town even to buy basic groceries hasn’t hindered the nationalistic fervour in the voters. “I have always voted for Congress but in the last election, I changed my vote to the BJP,” said 75-year-old Mangharamma, a resident of Kallugudda. Her son Dinesh Bangera had to take her to a secondary health care centre 20 km away recently after she developed kidney stones. The lack of connectivity only makes matters worse for them.
“How does an MP make a difference to us? The gram panchayat, that actually has the powers to make changes at the grassroot level, is important,” said Janardhan Achari, a carpenter from Herur in Kundapur. Despite his particular disinterest in the polls, he is aware of his village en masse deciding on supporting a single party. “Five years is too less a time to test a Prime Minister,” said Praveen Karvi, a resident of Madhugadde in Kundapur. The disinterest of some and the zeal of others influenced by the Hindutva-fuelled nationalism narrative seems to be tilting the scales in Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency.