"The election baton has been passed on from a rabble-rouser Hegde to another Hegde, who is a gentleman." This is the talk within political circles after five-term sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Anantkumar Hegde was dropped and the Uttara Kannada Lok Sabha seat ticket was given to former Karnataka Legislative Assembly Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri.
The BJP central leadership's decision to deny Hegde the ticket to the constituency he had been representing since 1996 (with a break only from 1999 to 2004 when Congress candidate Margaret Alva defeated him) does not really come as a surprise.
Hegde shot himself in the foot with his unstoppable controversial and rabid statements against minorities as well as the Constitution of India. He remained unaffected – even at times when the BJP distanced itself from his cantankerous outbursts – and was hoping to get the ticket this time too.
"It has come as a shock to him, and he is lying low after his 10 March statement on amending the Constitution, which upset the BJP. However, his followers are rallying in his favour on social media," party sources said.
A political loner, Hegde managed to get a ticket each time from 1996 for two reasons: his strong right-wing ideology and that there was no competitor within the party. It also suited the BJP central leadership to continue giving him a ticket from Uttara Kannada – a constituency, which along with Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru, is considered to be a Hindutva laboratory in the coastal region of Karnataka and South India.
A Havyaka Brahmin (natives of Uttara Kannada; the word Havyaka has its origin in words like Havyaga or Haveega, which refers to a person who performs homa and royal rituals), 56-year-old Hegde had been facing anti-incumbency in the segment.
The common complaint against him was that he shows up only once every five years, i.e., when the elections are announced.
Hegde's Controversial Statements
Speaking at an event in Siddapur in his constituency on 10 March, Hegde alleged that the previous Congress governments at the Centre had amended the Constitution in a manner that marginalised Hindus.
"The Constitution requires amendments because the Congress has altered it fundamentally, introducing unnecessary provisions that undermine the Hindu community. Achieving this change necessitates a two-thirds majority," he said, seeking public support for the BJP to secure over 400 parliamentary seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, citing the need for such a majority to enact Constitutional amendments.
The BJP was quick to distance itself from the statement, stating they were Hegde's personal observations, while the Congress accused the BJP of attempting to tamper with the Constitution and questioned its commitment to BR Ambedkar's vision.
This was the second time Hegde referred to amending the Constitution. In 2017 too, as Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, he suggested changing the Constitution. "We will respect the Constitution, but the Constitution has changed several times and will change in the future too. We are here to change the Constitution and we'll change it," he asserted.
At the same event, he urged people to identify with their religion or caste and ridiculed those who claimed to be secular.
After becoming a Union minister in 2014, he was in the news when he was caught on camera slapping a doctor at a private hospital in Sirsi in Uttara Kannada for allegedly not paying enough attention to his mother, who had suffered multiple fractures after a fall at home. The footage showed him grabbing the doctor by the throat and slamming him against a wall.
In 2018, Hegde had to apologise for his remark that a majority of people did not know Kannada. Inaugurating a programme on skill development in Puttur constituency, Hegde said barring those from Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, and Shivamogga, people from Karnataka "did not know proper Kannada." This had earned the wrath of not only pro-Kannada activists and litterateurs but also many in the party. Then Union Minister Prakash Javdekar who was in charge of Karnataka had conveyed the central leadership's displeasure with him, prompting Hegde to apologise.
In January 2019, as Union minister, he took the Kerala government to task, when the entry of two women in their 40s entering the Sabarimala temple kicked up a row and protests from right-wing activists. "I would like to say it is total daylight rape on the Hindu people," he had stated.
A few days later, he waded into another controversy when he said, "We have to rethink the priorities of our society. We shouldn't think about caste. If a Hindu girl is touched by a hand, then that hand should not exist," addressing a gathering of Hindu Jagran Vedike in Kodagu. The then President of Karnataka Congress unit, Dinesh Gundu Rao, condemned Hegde's remarks, saying he was "giving a call for vigilantism."
Rao had questioned Hegde's achievements and contributions and added that it was deplorable that such people managed to become ministers and get elected. Hegde responded by referring to Rao as "a guy who ran behind a Muslim lady (Rao is married to a Muslim)."
Hegde's statements in January this year also kicked up a storm, when he called Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah a "bootlicker." With reports of some youth in Karnataka joining the Islamic State in Syria, Hegde said, "Karnataka is becoming a home for terrorists. I won't be shocked if Siddaramaiah goes ahead and holds a Kasab Jayanthi in future."
When the Siddaramaiah government celebrated Tipu Jayanthi (birth anniversary of Mysuru warrior Tipu Sultan, who fought for Independence) in November 2017, Hegde wanted his name to be dropped from the invitation card. However, Siddaramaiah declined, stating that protocol stipulated Union ministers from the state to be invited.
He called Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a "hybrid specimen" who has a Muslim father and a Christian mother but calls himself a Brahmin. In 2016 at a press meet in Sirsi, Karnataka, Hegde had allegedly equated Islam to a "ticking time bomb of terror" that needed to be eradicated.
Hegde caught the BJP leadership's attention soon after the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992. A case of rioting, unlawful assembly, and promoting enmity was booked against him.
In 1994, he broke the police cordon and hoisted the national flag at the Idgah Maidan in Hubballi. According to the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which collates the affidavits of candidates during elections, Hegde declared that he is facing charges ranging from promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, and committing prejudicial acts against the maintenance of harmony.
No Opposition to Change in Candidature
Unlike in other constituencies, where the BJP is facing dissent for changing the candidates, Hegde's replacement has not raised any opposition so far. But the party's concern is whether the sober Kageri will be able to retain the seat, which was always a sure win for the party all these years.
Kageri was defeated from Sirsi, an Assembly segment of Uttara Kannada constituency in the 2023 Assembly polls, and his reach is said to be confined to his constituency. Hegde had won with a margin of four lakh in the 2019 parliamentary polls defeating Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Anand Asnotikar.
The Congress is trying to wrest the seat, which had been its fortress till 1996.
The party lost after it denied the ticket to G Devaraya Naik, who had represented it from 1980 to 1996. The Congress has given the ticket to Anjali Nimbalkar, a former MLA from Khanapur in Belagavi district which is part of Uttara Kannada constituency along with Kittur. Her party is banking on the Maratha votes from the two assembly segments of Belagavi.
With reports that Hegde might keep off from campaigning just as he did in the 2023 Assembly polls, BJP insiders said though they had got rid of the baggage of Hegde's controversies, only Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a poll plank can help the party in retaining the seat.
(Naheed Ataulla is a senior political journalist based in Bengaluru. This is an opinion article and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)