Karnataka polls: BJP banks on 'fictional' Tipu killers to woo voters
The fight for Vokkaliga votes in the Old Mysuru region is intensifying by the day with the BJP leaving no stone unturned to make a dent in the Janata Dal (S)-Congress influence in the region. In its bid to spread its wings in the Vokkaliga community-dominated Old Mysuru region, the BJP recently took recourse to what many call pure fiction – it propped up two characters, Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, who, the BJP says, were the brave warriors who killed Tipu Sultan.
The BJP, the JD(S) and the Congress have been trading charges over these two characters whom the BJP calls ‘historical’ and the Congress and JD(S), ‘fictional’. The fight got bigger when the news came that a film title ‘Uri Gowda-Nanje Gowda’ has been registered.
Also read: Karnataka polls: BJP focuses on Old Mysuru region, its key to power
Fingers at BJP
The JD(S) chief and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy pointed fingers at the BJP for registering the film title with the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, and accused film producer and BJP Minister Munirathna of taking the title under the Vrushabhadri Productions
He criticised the BJP for sowing “seeds of poison through lies and myth”. In a tweet, he said: “This is a hidden agenda by the BJP to insult Vokkaligas through a smear campaign. By attempting to make a film on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, attempts are being made to rob the Vokkaliga pride on the silver screen.”
The Uri Gowda-Nanje Gowda issue took a serious turn during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Mandya a week before. An arch in their name was erected on the outskirts of Mandya as part of welcome to the prime minister. But it was later removed as it triggered a war of words between BJP on the one hand and the Congress and JD(S) on the other.
Kumaraswamy said that this was an attempt to make Vokkaligas look like villains in history. “What is the relationship between Mr. Munirathna and Vokkaligas? Who will write the script for the film? Will it be BJP general secretary CT Ravi or Minister CN Ashwath Narayan? They are sowing seeds of hatred against the community to which they are born into,” he tweeted.
‘Part of history’
Reacting to Kumaraswamy’s tweets, Ravi told reporters at Kundgol in Dharwad district that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda are a historical truth.
So did Union minister of state for agriculture Shobha Karandlaje. She claimed that Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda fought for independence. “Their names are found in lavanis and several dramas in the Mysore kingdom. But you cannot accept it. Because of your policy, they are not part of history,” she told reporters in Bengaluru.
Also read: Rival parties woo Karnataka electorate with ‘gifts’
With Assembly elections round the corner, the BJP is focused on the Old Mysuru region, where significant electoral gains are seen to be crucial for the party to come back to power in Karnataka on its own. The Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda theory is seen by many as an effort to divide Vokkaliga votes in Mysuru region to the advantage of the BJP.
The region comprises Ramanagara, Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Kolar, Tumakuru and Hassan districts.
