Two yatras that rolled by Mangaluru — then BJP president L.K. Advani’s ‘Ram Rath Yatra’ in 1990, and the next party president Murli Manohar Joshi’s ‘Ekta Yatra’ in 1991-92 — decisively changed the political direction of Dakshina Kannada district. Since then, the BJP has held the ground it gained by unfurling strong Hindutva sentiments in this picturesque, coastal constituency.
Like many other Lok Sabha constituencies in the State, Dakshina Kannada, too, was held by the Congress for nine consecutive terms till 1991. Having opened its account in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP has won consecutively in every one of the seven Parliamentary polls since.
The saffron party has also held the Sullia Assembly segment for six consecutive terms since the 1994 Assembly elections, and won the Mangaluru City South Assembly seat five times since then. Sullia, incidentally, has been delivering the maximum lead in the number of votes to the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections.
Not surprisingly then, while opening the BJP’s election office here a week ago, V. Sunil Kumar, three-time MLA from Karkala and the party’s election in-charge for Dakshina Kannada, said: “The BJP will continue to implement the Hindutva agenda even after the elections. Bajrang Dal units will be opened in every village.”
He also said that the BJP would fight the Lok Sabha elections on the planks of Hindutva and development.
After fielding B. Janardhan Poojary in nine of the immediate past 11 Lok Sabha elections from the constituency (erstwhile Mangalore constituency covering Kodagu), the Congress has now fielded the 34-year-old Mithun M. Rai, said to be a ‘soft Hindutva’ leader, to take on the BJP.
Perhaps fearful that attacking the Hindutva agenda will work to the BJP’s advantage for an eighth consecutive win in the constituency, Congress leaders have refrained from commenting on it. Instead, they have been critical of the lack of progress on developmental projects under the tenure of two-time MP and incumbent Nalin Kumar Kateel, 52, who is seeking re-election under the BJP’s banner for the third time.
Neither Mr. Kateel nor Mr. Rai hail from political families. Mr. Rai, the son of a doctor and a graduate in business management, entered politics as part of the National Students Union of India (NSUI), and heads the district unit of the Youth Congress. Incidentally, he had been suspended as president of Youth Congress last year on the grounds that he was not active after the Assembly elections. But the party reinstated him later.
Mr. Kateel has a background in agriculture, has studied up to Class 10, and began his political innings via his affiliation with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). As part of his high-energy campaign, he is visiting both minor and major temples, and calling on leaders and places of worship of other religions as well.
Since the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) are not in the fray, the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which has been making its presence felt slowly, has emerged as the third contender in the constituency.
Nevertheless, a direct fight between the BJP and the Congress is expected in Dakshina Kannada.