BJP goes big on Tipu polemics in bid to change old Mysuru’s poll dynamics

Over the past week, two historically indeterminate personalities Uri Gowda and Doddananje Gowda have taken the centre stage in Karnataka politics.

BJP leaders have claimed that Uri Gowda and Doddananje Gowda were Vokkaliga chieftains in the 18th century who killed Tipu Sultan, avenging the Wadiyars. Historians refute, demanding evidence for their existence.

Ahead of the 2023 Assembly polls, the ruling BJP, which seeks to increase its voter base in the Vokkaliga-dominated old Mysuru region, is aggressively pushing this narrative. Vokkaligas constitute 15 per cent of the total electorate in the state.

Also Read: Uri Gowda, Nanje Gowda are real, claims Shobha Karandlaje

The party sparked outrage in Mandya last week when its local leaders replaced the ‘Balagangadharanatha Swami’ arch at the entrance of the city and installed ‘Uri Gowda-Nanje Gowda’ arch to welcome Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The district administration swiftly removed it, quelling controversy.

BJP leaders such as Shobha Karandlaje, C N Ashwath Narayan and C T Ravi have drummed up their campaigns by pitting the two Gowdas against Tipu. It’s no secret that the BJP is opposed to any glorification of Tipu Sultan who finds prominence in the history and culture of the old Mysuru region.

A BJP legislator seeking anonymity told DH that the party was using this strategy in constituencies with weak candidates. “In places where there are other dominant issues, this narrative will fall flat,” the legislator confessed.

Political analyst D Umapathy opines that the Mandya incident where the district administration removed the installation showed the lack of steam in BJP’s agenda. One BJP functionary added that the narrative was yet to reach the common man.

“Only intellectuals are talking about this. This may not yield electoral gains in the upcoming elections, but we will take it forward post the Assembly polls.”

Horticulture Minister Muniratna’s Vrushabhadri Productions has now come forward to make a film on Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, ostensibly to further the narrative.

While the theory gathered steam after the release of a play ‘Tippuvina Nija Kanasugalu’ (The True Dreams of Tipu) last year by Rangayana director Addanda Cariappa, the debate has been in existence before.

Kranthi Manju, a Mandya-based lawyer and BJP leader claims he was among the first to bring it to light through his research.

“The local folk form ‘lavanis’ mention not just Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda, but at least seven such soldiers from the community,” he tells DH.

He will produce evidence in time, he says, maintaining that he’s unhappy with the politicisation of this debate.

Historian Talakadu Chikkarange Gowda who has written at least three books on Tipu Sultan rubbishes the BJP’s claims.

“None claiming the existence of Uri Gowda and Nanje Gowda has produced any evidence. Far from Vokkaligas hating Tipu Sultan, history shows that they shared a good rapport. When Hyder Ali (Tipu’s father) fled Srirangapatna to escape the Maratha invasion, a Vokkaliga family gave shelter to Tipu and his mother,” he explains.

Also, the British always delegated their own men in the frontline of a battle. It would have been impossible for two Vokkaliga soldiers to get close to the ruler.

Historical records narrate that Tipu was shot dead by an unidentified British soldier, he argues.

In their bid to increase their vote base, the BJP-led government earlier unveiled a Kempegowda statue at the Kempegowda international airport in Bengaluru, while promising a statue of former chief minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah on the Bengaluru-Mysuru highway, both Vokkaliga icons.

JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy has lashed out at the BJP for “embarrassing” the Vokkaliga community by such ‘fictitious narratives’.

Shravanabelagola legislator C N Balakrishna, who heads the Karnataka Vokkaliga Sangha, says the association is examining the issue and will soon take action to oppose such “propaganda”.