K’taka Elections 2023: BJP’s Push to Woo Vokkaliga Voters Backfires, Removes Community Leaders from Temporary Doorway

A temporary doorway set up in Mandya with a caricature of Vokkaliga leaders Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda whom the BJP claims killed 18th-century Mysuru ruler Tipu Sultan was removed overnight after it received severe flak from writers and intellectuals of poll-bound Karnataka.

The doorway was set up in Mandya ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. After the picture went viral, writers and intellectuals called out the ruling party for creating a fictional warrior to reap political benefits from it.

“The genesis of WhatsApp University, Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda are literally raging on the street. Sanghis for their political benefit has tied such treason on Vokkaliga community,” wrote writer Chandrakanth Katari.

Another activist Vasu HV termed this as an insult to Mandya and Vokkaliga communities. “Without any doubt, one can say these two characters on the doorway are fake and this is an insult to Mandya and Vokkaliga community. Been living in Mandya for the past 12 years, and based on my experience here it’s all a lie. We must ensure that such lies are not being spread,” he said in his Facebook post.

Meanwhile, Kannada poet and activist Rajendra Prasad even tagged the District Collector of Mandya and Deputy commissioner of Mandya to urge the BJP to remove the doorway immediately alleging that it had the intention of communal violence.

“The district administration shouldn’t have allowed it to put it up as it has intentions to spread communally provoked lies and unrest. You should remove these doorways otherwise it will be the reason for Congress, JDS, Farmers unions and progressive organisations to hold protest on March 13,” read Rajendra Prasad’s Facebook post.

Following the severe criticism and Opposition from writers and activists, the doorway was removed overnight and was replaced with the name of a pontiff Shree Bala Gangadharnath Swamiji.

Asked about the removal of the doorway overnight, CT Ravi, National BJP Secretary, who had strongly claimed that the two Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda killed Tipu Sultan, said, “I don’t know why it was removed, but Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda killed Tipu and we will build a permanent doorway with their name.”

Meanwhile, even Higher education minister CN Ashwath Narayan said, “It’s in our history and it’s not right to question. Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda are our people and from our land. They must question the fanatic Tipu instead of Uri and Nanje Gowda.”

The BJP claimed that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda- the two brothers belonging to the Vokkaliga community- had killed Tipu sultan during the fourth Anglo-Mysore war. The opposition parties alleged that the BJP was spinning this narrative in order to tap into the Vokkaliga vote bank which is crucial for them to come to power.

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