In flood, Covid-hit Kodagu, BJP hopes to ride Bajrang Dal, The Kerala Story rows

Apart from tourism, Kodagu is known for giving the country star hockey players and some of the top defence personnel of the country, such as Field Marshal Kodandera Madappa Cariappa.

The BJP has fielded former Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, who belongs to the Arre Bashe Gowda community, from Virajpet. Its candidate from Madikeri is its sitting MLA Appachu Ranjan, a Kodava community leader, eyeing his fourth win from the seat.

The Congress Virajpet candidate is A S Ponanna, a former additional advocate general of Karnataka whose father, the firebrand politician A K Subbaiah, was the first president of the Karnataka BJP. In Madikeri, a Vokkaliga-dominated seat, the Congress candidate is Mantar Gowda, a leader from the community and the son of former minister A Manju.

Virajpet

The 2018 floods caused many people to lose their houses and livelihoods in this small town, exacerbating problems of environmental degradation in an area that is part of the Western Ghats. Now tourism is down, while health infrastructure remains plagued by issues.

The BJP campaign has revolved around nationalism and Hindutva, while the Congress is playing the Kodava community card. The constituency has around 49,000 Kodava community votes, 38,000 Muslim voters, 45,000 SC/STs, 22,000 Arre Bashe Vokkaligas, 24,000 migrants (most of them from Kerala) and 8,000 Christians.

The last time the Congress won from Virajpet was in 1999, and till it released its manifesto, the BJP campaign centred around attacking the late Subbaiah, who had left the BJP following ideological differences and turned a staunch anti-BJP and anti-RSS leader.

The BJP believes the Congress’s promise in its manifesto to act strictly against radical outfits that spread hate, naming the Bajrang Dal, has given it a fresh breath of air. Close on the heels of that row came the release of the controversial film The Kerala Story, on women being converted and joining the ISIS, which is being used by the BJP to fan fears of “love jihad”. Tipu Sultan as a “Muslim” figure who killed members of the Kodava community is also one of the talking points for the BJP here.

Speaking to The Indian Express, BJP candidate Bopaiah stressed his campaign was focused “only on the development” he has brought to Virajpet. But minutes later, a public speech he delivered mostly attacked Subbaiah and called for “saving the culture of Kodava land”.

Congress candidate Ponnanna admits the manifesto has been a setback. The district Congress unit even held a press meeting to point out that former chief minister and senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily had said there was no question of banning the Bajrang Dal if “it plays by the rule book”.

The Congress has also been reaching out to the public highlighting the “failures” of the local BJP MLA and the state government. Ponnanna has been working in the Assembly segment since 2021 and is credited with having energised the Congress at the grassroots.

While shrill Hindutva slogans now seem to dominate the discourse, putting a question mark on Ponnanna’s efforts, Rakesh, a taxi driver, says: “How long will the BJP keep selling Hindutva and (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi? The Congress failure to field a strong candidate here resulted in the rise of the BJP, which they have held onto. But for the last 10 years, Kodagu issues and problems have hardly been highlighted or addressed.”

Rakesh holds both BJP candidates Bopaiah and Ranjan of letting the people down.

Aware of the discontent, the BJP has turned to Addanda Cariappa, the director of the Rangayana art and theatre institute in Mysuru, who was recently in controversy for his play Tippuvina Nija Kanasugalu (Real Dreams of Tipu) that suggested that Tipu was killed by two Vokkaliga chieftains.

Cariappa, who entered the campaign on behalf of Bopaiah recently, has put up a video on social media alleging that Subbaiah had “desecrated” Goddess Cauvery years ago.

He is also warning that if the Congress wins, it will bring back Tipu Jayanti celebrations.

Madikeri

The BJP’s Ranjan has been winning this seat since 2008. The Arre Bashe Vokkaliga voters are considered the deciding factor in Madikeri, and they have so far remained loyal to Ranjan.

But the Congress also has a strong Vokkaliga contender in Dr Mantar Gowda, whose father and former minister A Manju is incidentally the JD(S) candidate from Arkalgud seat in Hassan district. The JD(S) has the strongest base among Vokkaligas in the state.

Mantar Gowda last contested the 2021 Legislative Council elections, and lost from Kodadu. A radiologist by profession, he says the people in the constituency, however, are looking for a change now.

Apart from Hindutva issues, the BJP is playing the “outsider” card, saying Mantar Gowda does not know anything about the constituency, unlike Ranjan.