It’s 6 am. At Karwar railway station, people bustle to get into the DEMU (diesel engine multiple unit) train to Goa (the last station of the train being Pernem).

These commuters from Uttara Kannada work in Goa for their livelihood. This is an indication of the dismal job situation in Karwar, headquarters of the Uttara Kannada district, said Madhav Naik, president of Jana Shakti Vedike (a non-governmental organisation) of Karwar.

Politicians’ claims

Some politicians, however, are audacious enough to claim the increase in the number of coaches on these trains as their greatest achievement, Naik told BusinessLine in Karwar in an apparent reference to the Bharatiya Janata Party leadership in the district. Stretching over 12,000 sq km, Uttara Kannada district includes the coastal region from Karwar to Bhatkal and the Malnad region such as Sirsi, Siddapur and Yallapur. The Western Ghats separate the coastal belt from the Malnad region. Nearly 75 per cent of the district is under forest cover.

Also read:Cong will rule Karnataka and Centre, says Rahul

The Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha constituency, which will go to the polls on April 23, includes six Assembly constituencies of Uttara Kannada district — Karwar, Kumta, Bhatkal, Yallapur, Sirsi and Haliyal — and two Assembly constituencies of Belagavi district — Kittur and Khanapur.

Of the 16 Lok Sabha elections so far, Congress has won the seat 10 times, and the BJP on six occasions.

Anantha Kumar Hegde, Union Minister of State for Skill Development, is contesting as the BJP candidate for the seventh time. The Janata Dal (S) has fielded Anand Asnotikar, who has done stints in the Congress and the BJP.

Cong workers unhappy

In spite of being a Congress base, the JD(S) is fielding its candidate in the constituency as part of the seat-sharing formula with its partner. This development has made a section of Congress workers unhappy.

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy accompanied Asnotikar at the time of filing the nomination papers, but the Congress leader from the district and Karnataka Minister RV Deshpande did not, indicating that all is not well with the coalition partners in the district.

The decision to hand over Uttara Kannada to the JD(S) did not go down well with the Congress workers, according to MM Haneef Shahab, a prominent Muslim leader from Bhatkal. To a query on the ascent of the BJP in the district over the years, Haneef Shahab said Hegde was the man behind the growth of the BJP in coastal Karnataka.

The BJP won the Bhatkal seat in the next Assembly elections. Hegde was elected MP for the first time in 1996 after the murder of the BJP MLA from Bhatkal, U Chittaranjan, said Haneef Shahab.

Neglected minority

Haneef Shahab feels that even Muslims sometimes feel neglected by the Congress. “We have 25,000-30,000 votes in Bhatkal. We had worked for the victory of Margaret Alva (Congress) in the 1999 LS polls. In fact, we played a key role in the defeat of Hegde in 1999,” he said, adding that the Congress MP at that time did not reciprocate their help with appropriate measures. (Hegde lost by 10,591 votes in that election.)

Madhav Naik said that though there were good chances to boost the prospects of the Congress in the district, that did not happen. Steps were not taken to develop a second line of leadership in the district.

Ganapati Bhat from Sirsi taluk said that though many in the BJP were not in favour of the candidature of Hegde, they work for him because of Narendra Modi. The handing over of the Congress base to the JD(S) has made the task difficult for the JD(S) candidate, he said.

Many citizens say that they have sacrificed a lot for many projects of national interest. This includes the land acquired for the Sea Bird Naval Base and the Kaiga Atomic Station, laying of railway track for Konkan Railway, and some hydro-electric projects.

Also read:Coastal Karnataka is not all saffron

Referring to the lack of interest among politicians to develop the district, Naik said focus has not been given to improve the industrial atmosphere in the region. Some efforts like multi-year tax rebates and uninterrupted power supply would have helped boost the growth of MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) in the region.

Though the Karnataka government acquired around 200 acres at Mudageri in the district 25 years ago, some of the affected families are yet to get the compensation for their land. The Mudageri land was best suited for agriculture, he said.

Subraya Gunaga from Ankola taluk said that Uttara Kannada is known for some unique crops such as the Ishada variety of mango, the Appe variety of tender mango (used to make pickle) and value-added products from kokum fruit ( Garcinia indica ). Exploring the potential of these crops would have helped increase the number of agro-processing units in the region.

The district has beautiful beaches and places of tourist interest along the coast and in the Malnad region. Yet, the elected representatives from the district have failed to explore the tourism potential of the district, he added.

 

For the latest on elections, click: Elections 2019

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