How hijab row will impact Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023

As college campuses turned into hotbeds of protests, violence and political clashes on the hijab issue, its impact on Karnataka’s electorate may be seen in the coming months, as the state heads towards assembly polls in 2023.

On the one hand, a large section of people from the Dakshina Kannada region feel the hijab row was largely a fallout of a political standoff rather than a fight for justice.

On the other, political parties like the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress say it will have minimal or no impact on elections.

Voices on the ground

News18 spoke to several local leaders who are familiar with the politics of the coastal Karnataka region. They highlighted how the clash between hijab-wearing girls and those wearing saffron shawls was an offshoot of the underlying political battle between the BJP and the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political wing of Popular Front of India.

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“Over the past few years, the political clash between the Campus Front of India (CFI) and the BJP has intensified. SDPI is also actively involved in stirring up emotions and we can see it more pronounced on campuses these days,” said a college student leader from Udupi who did not want to be named.

The hijab issue not only brought the CFI and SDPI together to “advise” the six petitioners, it also united the Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and the BJP Yuva Morcha.

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“Elections have been fought on ideologies. This is getting stronger by the day. We are sure that it will be part of the elections. The young voters will definitely want to talk about it,” said the student leader.

In terms of the influence of political parties in the region, in the 2018 Karnataka assembly polls, the BJP bagged all five seats in the Udupi district. The party also won seven of the eight seats in the Dakshina Kannada region leaving just one seat for Congress.

In the term before that, the Congress had won three seats in Udupi and seven in Dakshina Kannada.

Both political parties claim the hijab controversy will be a non-issue.

Yashpal Suvarna, national chief secretary of BCM Morcha of BJP, told News18 that the hijab issue will not be an election issue. He stressed that if at all it is does become part of the political discourse, it will be because of the Congress, SDPI and CFI.

“This issue is college education. Girls and boys should get good education and contribute to the development of the country. It should not be about how it would pan out during the elections,” Suvarna said.

The BJP leader said neither the PFI nor the SDPI have a base in Dakshin Kannada.

“They are trying to use religion to collect funds. Those who are part of this hijab issue clearly don’t want girl children to be educated. They want to keep them as slaves. If they are educated, they will question the men, right,” Suvarna asked.

Former Congress minister and Mangalore legislator UT Khader made it clear that his party does not want to give the hijab issue any importance.

“Just because a few hundreds have a problem, thousands of girls are losing out on valuable time and education. The onus is on the parents of these girls who want to wear a hijab to take a call on their education,” Khader told News18.com.

“The court has not banned the hijab. The Opposition party is throwing a trap and these people (protesting girls) are falling prey to it,” he added.

Meanwhile, the CFI has a different take. “The BJP wanted to polarise their vote bank, as they have not carried out any development in the state. A majority of people in Karnataka are watching and it will have an impact in the elections," Swadakath Shah, secretary, CFI.

What experts say

Political analyst Prof Chambi Puranik feels that the BJP may use the issue to showcase how they have dealt with a communal issue democratically.

“People are not foolish. They understand which issues have political undertones and which are meant for progress,” Puranik said.

Political scientist Muzaffar Assadi had a different view. He believes that the hijab issue will have a bearing on the elections in Karnataka. “Three things – the hijab issue, Kashmir Files and the confidence drawn from the UP elections – will have an impact on the state elections,” he said.

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