Karnataka’s Udupi district MLA Raghupathi Bhat has been denied a ticket to contest in the upcoming state assembly elections on May 10 by his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Instead of him, Yashpal Suvarna, who called hijabi-clad school girls ‘terrorists’, will be contesting.
Upset over this, Bhat spoke to reporters on Wednesday saying if he had been informed six months ago by the party that caste would be a factor while picking candidates, he would have taken senior leader K S Eshwarappa’s route.
Eshwarappa announced his retirement from electoral politics on Tuesday. According to party insiders, Eshwarappa’s decision is to pave the way for his son K E Kanthesh’s candidature from the Shivamogga Assembly constituency.
“All my party leaders told me till the last minute that at least two Brahmins will be fielded. I didn’t lobby for the seat. I have honestly built the party in the Udupi district. There is no need for me for the party now. Because the party has grown enough,” he told reporters.
Raghupathi Bhat is from the Brahmin community and a three-time winner in the Udupi constituency. Till Tuesday, the MLA was confident of gaining a ticket. However, the recent decision has “pained him”.
“I am not sad over the decision of the party. But I am pained over the way the party conducted this transition,” he told reporters.
Who is Yashpal Suvarna
“That boy (Suvarna) has been groomed by us,” said a displeased Raghupathi Bhat when asked if he was happy with being replaced by Yashpal Suvarna, an OBC leader hailing from the fishing community.
Suvarna is the vice president of the Development Committee of Udupi Government PU Girls’ College, the epicentre of the hijab issue.
At one point, he had even described the six hijabi-clad Muslim students who challenged the state government’s decision at the court as ‘terrorists’ and ‘anti nationals’.
Speaking to Indian Express, a BJP party source said that Suvarna was instrumental in distributing the saffron shawls to Hindu school children heightening the tension in the state.
The 45-year-old’s family has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
As a young man, Suvarna was an active ABVP and Bajrang Dal member. In 2005, he was arrested for parading a father and a son naked on the streets over the transportation of cattle. He was however acquitted by a special court.
Yashpal Suvarna is also the president of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts’ Cooperative Fish Marketing Federation.
Udupi district is home to a large number of backward community classes such as Billavas, Bunts, and Mogaveeras. There is a saying in coastal Karnataka – whoever controls the sea, controls the region. Sources told Indian Express it was the same case with Suvarna.
