Bengaluru: Karnataka’s Old Mysuru region—comprising the districts of Mandya, Mysuru, Chamrajanagar, Hassan and Chikkmagalur—which is a stronghold of both the Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) and the Congress, seems to be slipping away from the state’s ruling party.
The Congress fears losing this region to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with the recent spike in communally charged incidents there.
The trend started around the beginning of 2024 in Mandya, where the controversy over the removal of a Lord Hanuman flag from a village spiralled into national news. The row erupted after a Lord Hanuman flag, which was hoisted in the Keragodu village in Mandya, was removed and replaced with the National Flag by the district administration. Authorities claimed that the Keregodu gram panchayat had issued a letter in January 2024 saying that only the National Flag could be hoisted on the newly constructed flagpole.
Huge rallies were organised by the BJP condemning the state government’s decision to remove the “Hanuma Dhwaja”. BJP leaders hit out at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, calling him “anti Hindu” and “anti Hanuma Dhwaja”. The BJP was not alone in this, as even JD(S) supported it. The two parties took out protest rallies in both Mandya as well as in the state capital Bengaluru. Both parties joined hands in the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
In September 2024, the Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district witnessed a communal flare-up following a stone pelting incident during a Lord Ganesha procession. Section 144 was imposed in the taluk and authorities declared a holiday for all schools and colleges in and around the area. Miscreants pelted stones and set fire to shop fronts, and the police registered 10 FIRs and arrested over 50 people in connection with the rioting, vandalism and arson. A police officer was injured in the incident.
The violence started when a group of people from the minority community allegedly hurled stones at the Ganesha immersion procession near a mosque on Mysuru Road. According to the Superintendent of Police, Mandya, the altercation occurred when those taking part in the procession allegedly stopped near a dargah and started dancing to DJ music. The dispute arose when another group demanded that the procession move ahead, leading to a standoff that required police intervention.
In the Nagamangala communal clash incident, the ruling Congress government had registered cases on both sides, including the Hindu devotees who were a part of the Ganesha procession. A total of 10 FIRs were registered on the people involved from both sides and more than 50 people were arrested.
Interestingly, in the communal clash that occurred at Maddur taluk of Mandya last Sunday—where stones were again pelted on a Ganesha immersion procession and six people were injured in the rioting—the Congress government made sure that police cases were registered only against the minority community. N. Chaluvaraya Swamy, Minister for Agriculture and in-charge minister, stated, “We have not booked any cases against the Hindu devotees. We have not taken any counter complaint also and only Muslims are booked in this case after preliminary investigations by the police.”
“The BJP does not believe in development. It just wants to raise communal issues. We are dealing with the Maddur issue effectively,” Chaluvaraya Swamy added.
This has led to speculation that the Congress is worried of losing its Hindu voters in the Old Mysuru region—voters who served as a vote bank for both the Congress and JD(S) once. This vote bank, the Congress fears, is being hijacked by the BJP, say sources.
