By the afternoon of December 18, 2017, it was clear that the BJP had won the Gujarat Assembly elections. Late that night, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a four-time chief minister of the State, flew to Mangaluru, and stayed overnight in the city en route to Lakshadweep, where Cyclone Ockhi had caused much misery.

In Mangaluru, Modi neither made a political speech, nor did he attend any official meeting in the city, but the brief stopover was seen as a move to infuse new energy among the BJP’s cadre in the region.

The crowd at the airport and the onlookers on the sides of the road leading to the city late at night were an indication that coastal Karnataka was getting into poll mode.

Communal murders

2018 began with the murder of two persons from two religious communities, months after the region witnessed the killing of an RSS worker and an activist of the SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India).

In Uttara Kannada district, the body of Paresh Mesta was found in a lake in Honnavar taluk. The BJP claimed he was a member of the Sangh Parivar, and alleged that he was murdered. These incidents provided enough ammunition to political parties to build the tempo for the polls.

In early January, CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was in in Moodbidri, Dakshina Kannada, to participate in the party’s 22nd State conference in early January, termed coastal Karnataka “a laboratory of communal politics”. The BJP, he asserted, had managed to win elections in the region by dividing people.

A month later, BJP President Amit Shah was in coastal Karnataka. In fact, he began the Karnataka election campaign by offering prayers at Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple, around 100 km from Mangaluru. During his visit, Shah harped on the murder of the 24 Hindu activists, blaming Karnataka;s Congress government for the tragedy.

He also met Mesta’s family, and the kin of Deepak Rao and Sharath Madiwala, both RSS workers who were hacked to death in Dakshina Kannada. The deaths had led to unrest in the region. Shah also held discussions with seers and heads of mutts in Udupi.

Apart from this, he addressed students and members from the fishermen community and met booth-level workers from Dakshina Kannada and neighbouring districts.

Meanwhile, the BJP also conducted a ‘Jana Suraksha Yatra’, which, it claimed, was aimed at creating awareness on the ‘anti-Hindu policies’ of the Congress in the State. The four-day yatra from March 3-6 covered Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Dakshina Kannada and Kodagu districts, before culminating in Mangaluru, where Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath addressed a public rally.

JD(S)’s development push

On the same day, former Karnataka chief minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy participated in a ‘conclave of intellectuals’ to elicit their ideas for the development of coastal Karnataka.

Coming down heavily on the BJP and the Congress, he said their behaviour had created panic among the citizens, and both parties were least concerned about the State’s development.

The Congress strategy

When Congress president Rahul Gandhi toured coastal Karnataka in the second half of March, party workers had already begun meeting voters, and senior party leaders of the State had been visiting the region frequently.

Last October, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who was in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, utilised the inauguration of a bus depot to attack the policies of the Centre, and also dared the BJP to realise its target of 150 seats in the Assembly.

Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the region focused on road shows, interaction with a group of fishermen and a public rally in Mangaluru. For most part, he criticised the Modi government on various issues. Responding to the Prime Minister’s attack on previous central governments, the Congress chief said Modi had insulted the parents, farmers and small traders of yesteryear despite their contribution to nation-building.

After tasting success with his temple visits in Gujarat — the Congress was a close-second in a State that has been a saffron citadel — Rahul’s itinerary in coastal Karnataka included visits to places of religious importance. He visited temples, a church and a dargah. Though he visited Sringeri Sharadamba Temple in the neighbouring Chikmagaluru district and met the seer there during this visit to the region, he avoided meeting religious leaders and the heads of mutts in Udupi.

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