Karnataka’s varied topography typifies its character. The coastal region is as temperamental as the Arabian Sea that laps its shores, while the Old Mysuru region is marked by the ebb and flow of the river Cauvery. Further north, is the semi-arid region of Hyderabad Karnataka and to the northwest is Bombay Karnataka, where the border district of Belagavi is troubled by linguistic issues.
Here’s a look at each region and the cardinal issues at play:
Old Mysuru region
This region echoes the sentiments of the Cauvery — sometimes placid, sometimes tumultuous.
Since the Cauvery is the lifeline here, the dispute over the sharing of its waters with riparian States —Tamil Nadu and Kerala and the Union territory of Puducherry — is a long, sensitive and emotional one. The farmers of the region depend on it for their livelihood, and for the rest of the people, it’s the water they drink. The water level at the Krishnaraja Sagar, a dam built at the confluence of its tributaries Hemavati and Lakshmana tirtha in Mandya district, is a barometer of the region’s mood. Water released from the KRS dam flows into Tamil Nadu.
Key issues:
1. With the Western Ghats running through Kodagu district, the land of coffee and oranges and sprawling estates, environmental concerns are many. While man-animal conflict is a constant irritant, a rail line through the eco-sensitive zone from Mysore to Kushalnagar and to Madikeri, Kodagu’s capital city, has raised a red flag as it means the felling of trees and disturbing the delicate balance between human habitation and the wildlife. Several organisations have come together to form a movement against the project.
2. The Congress government’s decision after it came to power in the State to celebrate Tipu Jayanti every year sparked off protests, with the BJP terming Tipu Sultan “not a patriot, but an anti-national”. Madikeri was one of the areas that experienced violence during Tipu Jayanti celebrations in November 2015, which claimed the life of two people, including a Vishwa Hindu Parishad activist.
Political equation: It’s a straight and ‘vengeful’ fight between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress here. The BJP has made inroads only in Tumakuru and Kolar. The region has a high concentration of Vokkaligas, one of the dominant and influential castes in the State, the other one being the Lingayats.
Hyderabad Karnataka
The six districts of Hyderabad Karnataka — Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Kalaburagi, and Ballari -- carved out of Hyderabad (the Nizam State in 1956) during the reorganisation of States, are mostly barren and marked by socio-economic backwardness. It needed a boost and a four-decade-long plea to inject funds for development materialised after the UPA government brought about a Constitutional amendment and accorded special status under Article 371(J) in 2012, a year before the 2013 Assembly elections in the State. The result was evident: the Congress bagged 24 of 40 Assembly constituencies.
Key issues:
1. Five years down the line, the implementation of Article 371(J) — which ensures all-round development is tangible, but not yet 100%. Water, development, infrastructure and employment are the hot issues here. Essential irrigation projects haven’t kicked off as funds crunch and land acquisition slow their launch. A case in point is the promised but delayed Upper Krishna Project 3rd Phase. Consecutive years of drought has added to the region’s distress.
Political equation: The region has for long been a Congress bastion, which the special status accorded under Article 371-J of the Constitution cemented. BJP is quelling the development claim with “lack of implementation”. Even caste equations are an important factor where 18 of the 40 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes. Muslims are a significant number and Lingayats are present here, not discounting the power of the Ballari brothers.
Bombay Karnataka
Bombay Karnataka, by its very name, signifies a mix of cultures, as some of its districts during reorganisation of States was carved out of Maharashtra (then Bombay presidency). So you have Marathi-speaking folks coexisting with the Kannada-speaking population. The Maharashtra Ekikaran Samiti (MES), a pro-Maharashtra group, is constantly campaigning for the merger of Belagavi with Maharashtra. The State government, to reinforce its claim over the border district, holds the winter session of Parliament at the Suvarna Soudha in Belagavi each year.
Burning issues in the region and common to the State: Mahadayi agitation and Lingayatism
1. Lingayatism took root through the followers of Basaveshwara, the 12th century social reformer in this region. The long-pending demand for a separate religion for the Lingayats gathered momentum in the past year, with followers of Basavana organising massive rallies not only in this region but across the State, particularly in Hyderabad Karnataka and Bombay Karnataka. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his Cabinet, as late as March 2018, recommended that the Lingayat/Veerashaiva community be declared a ‘religious minority’, to the Centre, thereby appeasing a large part of the electorate. The ball is now in the Centre’s court in this matter.
While the Lingayat/Veerashaiva community is against those who project their religion as an integral part of Hinduism, within the community are those who argue that Lingayats and Veerashaivas are not one and the same.
2. The dispute over the sharing of the Mahadayi or Mandovi river that flows 35 km through Karnataka and 52 km through Goa, before flowing into the Arabian Sea Is yet another water dispute. The regions of northern Karnataka, along with the bordering areas of Maharashtra and Goa, have been depending on the Mahadayi basin for water needs, including drinking water and irrigation.
To bring water to the drought-prone regions of Belagavi, Hubballi-Dharwad, Gadag and Bagalkot, the Kalasa-Banduri Nala project was conceived by Karnataka, which aims to divert 7.56 tmc of water from the Mahadayi to the Malaprabha in Karnataka. Goa is opposing the diversion of water to the Malaprabha.
Political equation: The Lingayat and Mahadayi issues are set to have an influence on the polls. While the former will give Congress a boost, the BJP hopes to win votes with the latter.
Coastal and Malnad region
This region has a 320-km coast stretching across the three districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. This is a region which has seen disturbances over cattle vigilantism, hate speeches with an aggressive Hindutva push, moral policing, and communal tension.
1.The infamous pub attack of January 2009 in Mangaluru city gave a new dimension to moral policing. Activists, headed by Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik, barged into a pub and attacked the youth for consuming alcohol. Two girls were hospitalised. Nine years later in March 2018, the 2nd Judicial Magistrate First Class in Mangaluru, acquitted all 26 of the accused in the case, including Muthalik, for lack of evidence. Witnesses had turned hostile, including the young girls who were attacked.
2. Another blot in the landscape is suspicion of terror modules springing up in the region. The Dakshina Kannada police say there is evidence that terror modules from the coastal region, particularly Mangaluru city, have played a logistical role in terror activities elsewhere in the country.
3. The Bababudangiri shrine in Chikkamagaluru has long been a bone of contention between Hindus and Muslims.The controversy began in 1975 when the State government decided to transfer the shrine from the Muzrai Department to the Wakf Board. Till then, it had been a pilgrimage centre frequented by both Hindus and Muslims.
While the Hindus treat it as the abode of Dattatreya Swami, Muslims consider it the place of Dada Hayat Mir Qualandar. Post the Babri Masjid issue in Ayodhya, the Sangh Parivar made it a hotbed by wanting to “liberate the shrine like Ayodhya ” and declare it a Hindu place of worship, with a Hindu priest. The matter went right up to the Supreme Court.
In 2015, the Supreme Court directed the State government to decide the title claims over the shrine. The State government set up a panel to look into the religious practices at the shrine and in March 2018, the panel recommended that the shrine is not a wakf property but under the jurisdiction of the Muzrai Department and the administrator would be Shah Khadri (hereditary administrator of the shrine). A key recommendation was that the features of the shrine should not be changed. The State Cabinet accepted the report and this will be communicated to the Supreme Court.
Political equation : The contest is pitched “between Hindus and Muslims”. The area, particularly the coastal belt, has the strongest base of RSS cadre. While the BJP is leaning heavily on Hindutva, the Congress is banking ‘on being a secular Hindu’ party.
Role of mutt
Other than the geographical issues, there is an interesting pan-State influence that has a great bearing on the Assembly elections in the State -- mutt supremacy.
Leaders of all major parties have been making a beeline to the mutts (Hindu monasteries) in Karnataka, which number to a few hundred of different castes. They are headed by seers, the oldest being Sri Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga Mutt in Tumakuru, who celebrated his 111th birthday on April 1, 2018.
The connect between the mutt and its devotees is powerful given that the mutt looks to the welfare of the respected communities by setting up educational institutions, hospitals, mass marriages, among a host of other measures. The devotees of the mutts tend to vote en masse for a particular party. The seers are not only revered but are known to influence State and national politics in a covert manner.
