Sirsi in Uttara Kannada is just days away from voting in the Lok Sabha elections, but signs of anticipation or excitement are almost absent on the ground. The streets are deserted and most of the stores are shut, except for one paan shop. I ask the vendor about the election fever, and he says, “It is all about BJP here." Unlike the quiet, undulating roads of Sirsi, the constituency’s sitting MP Anant Kumar Hegde is known across the country for his charged communal statements. A Congress bastion since Independence, Uttara Kannada has since transformed into a BJP fortress and, and Anant Kumar Hegde has led that transformation. Born in Sirsi in 1968, Anant Kumar came to prominence as a youth leader after an incident in 1994, when the tricolour was hoisted at the Eidgah Maidan in Hubli. By the early 90s, his status as a prominent Hindutva leader was unquestionable. The popular opinion in the town is that this election will be a cakewalk for the incumbent leader and the BJP, though it’s unclear whether there is support for the communal hate displayed by Anant Kumar. Some say that anti-incumbency – Anant Kumar has been elected five times – will be a huge factor against him. I ask Suresh, a resident who believes Hegde will win, if he has done any developmental work for Sirsi. He says no. Then why will he win? “Because people will vote for Modi and not for him,” he says. An agricultural stronghold The journey around Sirsi is filled with sights of arecanut farms, banana plantations, and jowar and paddy fields. Agriculture is the main occupation in Sirsi taluk, with Havyakas and Naik communities being the chief landholders. At 42.3%, the registered worker population in the district is fourth lowest in the state, which could be attributed to the significant farming population in the district. On his website, Hegde lists the following as his achievements in the past five years: funding a new six lane highway, construction of all-season port as well as ports for small scale fisheries, modernization of railway tracks and stations, and tourism development. While some of these projects are initiated on paper, the implementation is yet to happen. Hegde pleads to people to vote him and BJP back into power so that the implementation is unaffected. Green fields at Gudnapur near Sirsi. TSS Supermarket in Sirsi. Due to the presence of protected forest areas and a thriving agriculture sector, it is felt that industrial development has lagged behind in the region. Journalist and long-time Sirsi resident Shailaja feels that people in the region should understand the need to grow the agriculture sector even more, and not succumb to the idea that jobs mean working in corporate offices. Some of the youth disagree though, and argue that if industries are not setup, they will have to migrate to cities like Bengaluru. How else will they use their education, they ask. The success of the agriculture sector in Sirsi region can be attributed to TSS (Totagaras Co-operative Sales Society). Setup in 1923, the organization is a great example of the success of the co-operative movement. TSS provides sales, marketing and financing services to the farmers in the region. A massive storage facility setup by TSS in Sirsi has been a blessing for the farmers. As Havyaka names prominently figure on the TSS website, I ask Shailaja if they support Anant Kumar Hegde. She says that while the organization is largely apolitical and does not endorse anyone publicly, traditionally many Congress leaders have been part of it. The political field Joachim Alva, a writer and a prominent Christian figure in the Indian Independence movement was the first elected Member of Parliament from the constituency (then known as North Kanara). G Devaraya Naik was another prominent Congress leader from Uttara Kannada, winning the elections between 1980 and 1991. Margaret Alva, the only leader to defeat Anant Kumar Hegde (in the 1999 elections), is the last Congress candidate to win a Lok Sabha election in the constituency. JD(S) is yet to register a victory here. With more than 15 lakh electors, the constituency ranks second lowest in the state. The Scheduled caste population in the district is only 8.1% (amongst the lowest four districts in the state). Interestingly, two taluks of Belgaum district – Khanapur and Kittur – come under Uttara Kannada constituency, and, have been crucial to the outcome of elections. Shailaja says that although Hegde’s performance is questionable, the opposition candidate, Anand Asnotikar from JD(S), too faces tough questions. She also draws attention to the legacy of Ramakrishna Hegde, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, and his bitter experience with Janata Dal - he was allegedly expelled from the party on Deve Gowda’s insistence. Marikamba temple at Sirsi. The fact that Asnotikar was first elected from Congress as an MLA from Karwar in 2008, and then joined BJP, and has now switched sides to JD(S) does not help his cause. There is also talk of in-fighting in the opposition as many feel Prashant Deshpande (son of R V Deshpande, and opponent of Hegde in the last Lok Sabha elections) would have been a better candidate. Shailaja rues that the Congress-JD(S) combine has not been able to present a strong opposition to BJP in the region. There is speculation as to how much RV Deshpande (Revenue Minister in the Karnataka cabinet) and his supporters will campaign for Asnotikar. Shailaja says that one of the key issues in the constituency will be the eviction of people from the forests. The Supreme Court recently rejected claims of more than 1.1 million people of their right to live in forests under Forests Rights Act. Siddhis, Kunbis, Goulis, Sheeligas are some of the tribes which have a significant presence in the forests of Uttara Kannada region. The political class is yet to devise a strategy to address the problem of the impending eviction. Ananth Kumar continues to enjoy popularity in the region because there is a substantial population, especially in the coastal area, who support the Hindutva ideology and his incendiary remarks have made him popular. Some say that this election season he hasn’t made any communal remarks and has been only targeting the dynastic nature of Congress leadership. It is hard to understand if there is support for the communal hatred displayed by Hegde, but certainly, the popular opinion is that this election will be a cakewalk for him and the BJP. As I travel onwards to Dharwad in a KSRTC bus, seated next to me is an educated middle-aged couple settled in Dharwad for decades. Half an hour into our conversation about the elections, the lady asserts, “We need people like Anant Kumar Hegde to control Muslims. Otherwise it will be chaos.”
