Congress’ stance on Maratha board puts Uttara Kannada leaders in a bind

KARWAR: At a time when the Congress is struggling to recover lost ground in the coastal district of Uttara Kannada, statements made by former chief minister Siddaramaiah and other senior leaders of the party on the proposed Maratha Development Board has put the local members in a bind.
Uttara Kannada district is home to a sizeable Maratha population. Ironically, the sole representative that the Congress has from the district in the assembly is from Haliyal – former minister RV Deshpande – a constituency, wherein Marathas account for 35% of the voters.Karwar is another constituency where Marathas, accounting for 12% of the electorate, can decide the outcome of the poll, while in Yellapur and Sirsi too, their numbers are large enough to have a significant impact on the result. Furthermore, Kittur and Khanapur taluks of Belagavi district, both of which boast a considerably large Maratha voter base, are part of the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat.
Local Congress leaders pointed out that the party’s MLC from the district Shrikant Ghotenkar was, in fact, a Maratha himself. Both Deshpande and Ghotenkar welcomed the state government’s decision to set up a dedicated board for the welfare of the Maratha community. However, differing voices within the party dubbed the decision a move by the BJP to divide the people of the state. Consequently, both Deshpande and Ghotenkar find themselves wedged between a rock and a hard place. Given that the countdown to the gram panchayat elections has started in the earnest, neither leader wants to publicly endorse the party’s stance and risk antagonising the Maratha community in the district.
BJP members and functionaries in Uttara Kannada, on the other hand, are rather pleased with the turn of events since the internal dispute within the Congress has provided the saffron party with the opportunity to strengthen their hold on the Maratha community in the district. Former Haliyal MLA and BJP leader Sunil Hegde dubbed the government’s decision to constitute a dedicated Maratha board a ‘historic’ move. “The backward community has got justice, at last,” Hegde said.
A senior Congress leader in Uttara Kannada voiced apprehensions over the stance adopted by the party on the board. “It may affect the party’s electoral fortunes here. Our leaders, when making such statements, have in mind only the political scenario in Bengaluru and Mysuru. But they do not realise that they may lose voters in the rest of the state by making such remarks,” he said.