Coast Isn’t Clear for BJP in Karnataka Hindutva Hub Karwar, Cong Hopes to ‘Sail’ through with ‘Winds of Change’

The strong smell of a fresh catch of fish in the coastal town of Karwar in Karnataka is mixed with a sniff of opportunity the Congress sees in this Hindutva bastion of the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress hopes that the winds of change it perceives in the state engulf this constituency in Uttara Kannada, which has been the stronghold of the BJP. Anant Kumar Hegde, who has been the MP from the Lok Sabha constituency of Uttara Kannada, where Karwar falls, ensured that this sleepy coastal town had the Hindutva flag flying. The Congress hopes to break this hold.

While the BJP is anticipating a second term for Roopali Naik, the Congress has fielded Satish Krishna Sail. But the opposition party may face some trouble as the votes could be split by the Janata Dal (Secular) and Aam Aadmi Party, who have fielded candidates from here.

Karwar epitomises the fusion culture, thanks to its proximity to Goa, which is about an hour’s drive away. It’s also the reason why Goa has set eyes on 12 islands in Karwar and wants the region to be merged with India’s smallest state.

As the fishermen begin to wind up their work, I ask this of them. Subhash, 23 years old, hopes to make fishing his family business a big venture. He works part-time at a nearby private firm. “I believe in Kannada pride,” he says. “Karwar is Karnataka and we can’t let it go. Even our fish is better than theirs.” Others standing next to him agree.

The situation is a bit awkward for the BJP as it has its governments in both Karnataka and Goa.

Karwar has embraced many cultures but is unwilling to give up its own now. It comes as no surprise that the biggest and most popular beach of Karwar is called Rabindranath Tagore Beach, a testimony to the years the Nobel laureate spent here writing poems.

As I chat with the fishermen here, one walks up to me and mentions Atiq Ahmed.

“A journalist like you killed him. I think it’s good that he has been killed,” he says.

It’s this UP factor and event that the BJP hopes would help it succeed. Pushing the Hindutva agenda has worked in the past in this saffron zone. Faced with infighting, the BJP is counting on it to work again. And the popular beach resort of Karwar, it hopes, is just the first dot on the map of Karnataka which can be a success story for the saffron party.

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