Paradox in communal tinder box: It’s Hindutva vs BJP in Karnataka’s Puttur

This time around Hindutva may come back to bite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Puttur constituency in coastal Karnataka since a large section of workers are revolting against the party's choice of candidate, whom they feel is not the face of their ideology. Puttur, a BJP bastion, had been regularly handing out electoral victories to right-wing party’s candidates since 1994. The only exception was in 2013 when Shakunthala T Shetty of the Congress defeated BJP’s Sanjeeva Matandoor. Hindutva hardline adopted by a section of party workers following the murder of BJP leader Praveen Nettaru has now resulted in the party facing a rebel candidate in the constituency.

Arun Kumar Puthila, a Brahmin leader who entered limelight in 1997 during a major communal riot here would take on the party’s official candidate Asha Thimmappa Gowda in the polls. The Congress, which usually plays soft Hindutva card here, has put up a BJP leader who recently defected from the party and joined them and is banking on the split in the vote base. Arun Kumar, who is the voice of hardliners, is a fan of Yogi Adityanath-style of governance and wants it to be implemented in Puttur, which has roughly over 51,000 Muslim voters. 

However, this is not the first time the assembly segment is witnessing rebellion over Hindutva ideology. In 2008, late Urimajalu Ram Bhat, a veteran RSS and BJP leader, flagged his dissent by opposing BS Yediyurappa for drifting away from the Hindutva cause and denying ticket to his loyalist Shakuntala T Shetty. He eventually left BJP but returned to the party fold again in 2014. Ram Bhat was voted to power from Puttur in 1978 on the Janata Party ticket and in 1983 as a BJP candidate, three years after he joined the party.

In 2008, a section of the RSS and BJP backed Shetty, who shunned the lotus to contest on coconut symbol as an independent candidate. Although BJP's low profile candidate Mallika Prasad won the poll, Shetty managed to secure third position bagging 20.4 % vote share. Mallika just scraped through victory with a narrow margin of 1,425 votes against Congress candidate Bondala Jagannatha Shetty, who passed away a few years ago following an accident. 

Shetty's electoral performance not just narrowed down the margin but also gave her the bargaining power to secure a ticket from Congress five years later. In 2013, she emerged victorious securing over 46% of the vote share. Interestingly several Hindutva workers including Puthila worked for her to ensure win. This has an interesting background, which is linked to the drifting away of the right wing faction from RSS fold in Karnataka to form a new Hindutva brand. 

Hindutva vs BJP

Described as a maverick personality by his foes and friends, Puthila is a vocal proponent of Hindutva ideology and has been accused of fanning communal polarisation. According to his affidavit, he has five pending cases, mostly criminal in nature. But none of them are linked to communal violence. 

Puthila, who was associated with the Bajrang Dal, became a poster boy for local Hindutva extremists in Puttur, where riots simmered on for nearly a month in 1997 following the murder of a girl Sowmya Bhat by her spurned lover, who hails from Muslim community. Disgruntled with the RSS and BJP for failing to provide him desired posts, Puthila joined hands with Sri Rama Sene founder Pramod Muthalik in 2005 after quitting the Bajrang Dal. 

Interestingly, Pramod Muthalik of Sri Rama Sene is taking on BJP’s Sunil Kumar in the Karkala constituency as an independent candidate. The duo are seen as Guru and Shishya (teacher and master). 

A chunk of right-wing foot soldiers from lowered castes have rallied behind Puthila, infuriating the Sangh and BJP. Madhusudan Urwa Store, former Mangaluru Gau Raksha Sanchalak, said following the development, Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, an RSS ideologue from coastal Karnataka and BJP MP DV Sadananda Gowda, who were at the helm of affairs, felt the party was losing grip. Madhusudan, who was associated with Bajrang Dal and Sri Rama Sene, has also worked with Puthila. 

Madhusudan narrated a key incident that set Hindutva and BJP on a collision course in the region. Puthila had organised a Shani Pooja (Shani is the divine personification of Saturn in Hindu religion) in 2006. The local administration had denied permission for the event at Mahalingeshwara Temple ground in Puttur town allegedly due to instructions from Prabhakar Bhat and Sadananda Gowda but Puthila and his followers decided to defy the government and went ahead with the ritual. 

The cops stormed the venue where hundreds had gathered and resorted to lathi charge. Puthila had alleged that the cops even made an attempt to finish him off in an encounter but he had a narrow escape. "Over 80 persons were booked for unlawful assembly and on various other charges. Over 30 were sent to Bellary prison. Puthila through this event wanted to display the strength of the breakaway faction in the state, which was then ruled by the BJP-JD(S) government," he said. 

The event was attended by Muthalik too. Shakuntala Shetty, who was then a  BJP MLA, openly extended support to the Pooja. She could not however wield her power to grant permission to the event because of the RSS opposition, said Madhusudan. Shetty paid the price for the support and was sacked. This incident laid the seeds for the Hindutva Vs BJP narrative, which has now strengthened and spread to other parts of the state. The curbs placed on the event was to curtail the growth of an alternate Hindutva brigade but ironically this occurred during a Hindu ritual attended mostly by lower caste cadres who previously worked with Bajrang Dal and Vishwa Hindu Parishad, Madhusudan said. Many lowered caste right-wing foot soldiers were booked and were let down by the BJP for siding with Rama Sene.

After the incident, Muthalik received some attention while highlighting this issue but Puthila kept a low profile until 2008. The infamous Mangaluru pub attack of 2009 led by Sri Rama Sene's Prasad Attavar and Muthalik brought Sri Rama Sene in the limelight, emboldening the organisation. Jeevan Neerumarga, who took part in the attack, said members of Rama Sene developed anger against the BJP for taking punitive action against the attackers despite the party clearly benefiting from the incident. This further widened the gap between Hindutva workers and the BJP. 

In 2014, in Puttur and other coastal areas, the gap was cemented due to the Modi wave, said Anand Shetty Adyar, state general secretary of Sri Rama Sene. But the Modi effect started to wear off when right-wing workers who engaged in violence over cattle, love jihad and political killings continued to suffer. They struggled for bail while those benefitted from their acts were cosily enjoying government perks and power, he said. 

A source in the BJP said Puthila had been a ticket aspirant since 2018. He was asked by the RSS bigwigs to be patient. In July 2022, when Praveen Nettaru was killed, BJP state president Nalin Kateel's car was surrounded by thousands of angry, sloganeering, party workers, who said lives of grassroot workers were being ignored under the BJP rule and leaders were using the deaths for their own benefits to win elections.  The incident created shockwaves in the BJP.  Puthila, who played a leadership role in this carefully ensured that the situation did not go out of hand. Pramod Muthalik too paid a visit to Nettaru's home. Although the government made arrests, banned Popular Front of India (PFI) and paid compensation to Nettaru's family the anger cadres had for the party, Nalin Kateel and BL Santosh, the BJP’s national general secretary, has not subsided. 

The cadres were hopeful that the ticket would be given to a ticket for a Hindutva face like Puthila, said Pareekshitha Bhat, a social media writer, who is currently backing the independent candidate. The BJP went with a low profile candidate Asha Thimmappa like it did during the rebellion in 2008. However, this time anger has reignited the old Hindutva Vs BJP battle. 

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) has fielded Shafi Bellare, an accused in the Nettrau' murder case, adding fuel to the fire. 

Kalladka Prabhakar Bhat, speaking to TNM, said "I had convinced Puthila to withdraw candidature, but he is reluctant. Puttur is a strong fortress of the RSS and no one can challenge this. Besides, Puthila is seen as a rowdy element and BJP voters will wisely choose their candidate and will not fall prey to the propaganda of Puthila." 

Arun Puthila while admitting that Bhat spoke to him, said the grassroot workers were betrayed by the party not once but multiple times. "My battle is not against BJP but against those who are a threat to the idea of Hindutva," he said.

'BJP funding SDPI'

All the candidates of SDPI are funded by BJP, alleged Pramod Muthalik. Even in Puttur, the candidate is backed by the saffron party to divide Muslim votes. The BJP thinks that dividing Muslim votes will help defeat the Congress. The SDPI has fielded 16 candidates. 

Muthalik said Karkala too has a situation similar to Puttur in Karkala and that he was forced by a section of RSS, Bajrang Dal, VHP and Hindu Jagaran Vedike to contest as most of the cadres were ignored by the sitting MLA Sunil Kumar. In over 200 booths, these organisations have provided their karyakartas to manage the show. However, not many believe Muthalik can pull off a victory against Kumar in Karkala as he has deep political roots in the constituency.