The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which swept the 2018 Assembly polls in coastal Karnataka by highlighting the “murders six Hindu youths” during the Congress regime (2013-2018) in the State, and by projecting itself as the custodian of Hindutva, seems to have shifted its focus this time. The rhetoric heard more often during this campaign is around “nationalism” and “development”. Moreover, caste calculations have come into play in a more pronounced way this time than ever before in the BJP’s scheme of things.
Of the 19 Assembly seats in the three coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, and Uttara Kannada, the BJP had won 16 seats in the previous Assembly elections, leaving three to the Congress. It snatched one more seat (Yellapura in Uttara Kannada) from the Congress in the 2019 by-election, increasing its tally to 17.
Of its 17 incumbent MLAs, the BJP has changed six by fielding novices for the May 10 election. It has fielded one more novice, taking the tally to seven. The Congress has fielded eight novices, including Nivedith Alva, son of former Union Minister and former Governor Margaret Alva, from Kumta in Uttara Kannada.
