Representative Image | Photo: https://www.facebook.com/eddelukarnataka/
Eddelu Karnataka (Wake Up Karnataka), a civil society collective, actively opposed Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) during the Karnataka Assembly election, 2023 by strategically identifying key constituencies and working at the grassroots level. Eddelu Karnataka conducted over 200 workshops, produced a substantial amount of campaign materials and utilized various media platforms to support their mission of keeping the votes against the saffron camp undivided. Writer and former Professor of Chair in Kannada at Jawaharlal Nehru University's Centre for Indian Languages, Purushottama Bilimale, who is part of the Eddelu Karnataka in interaction with Mathrubhumi English spoke about civil society's intervention.
Excerpts from the interview:
Could you provide a brief overview of Eddelu Karnataka?
After the 2018 elections, the BJP did not get the required majority to form the government in Karnataka. But, they formed the government with an illegal and unconstitutional plan called 'Operation Kamala'. After coming to power BJP's true colours started coming out. They galvanised their efforts to polarise the society along communal lines, promoting aggressive Hindutva and maintaining studied silence on corruption. Many civil society members like me, were deeply disturbed by these developments. Hence, initially, some of us including eminent Dalit writer Devanuru Mahadeva, Infosys Foundation Award winner Prof. AR Vasavi, Researcher Dr. Rahamat Tarikere, Women activist Du Sarasvathi, Central Sahitya Akademi Award winner Dr Vijayamma and few others had a discussion informally and decided to raise the following questions:
- How Karnataka culture, which had a multilingual and multi-cultural base has been deeply hurt by the BJP?
- How do hate speeches and communal actions make people forget their real miseries?
- What were the promises of the BJP during the 2018 elections, and how much they achieved by the 2023 elections?
The first thing to do was to examine the BJP's manifesto of 2018. We produced a thirty-page document titled 'Wake up Karnataka: Citizens movement' which highlighted issues including rural distress, inflation, subsidies, education, scholarships, unemployment, hate speech, and privatization. Once we were ready with such questions and answers, we started reaching people through social media. The movement was able to organise 80 workshops for volunteers and the public, enroll 1.6 Lakh new voters, and negotiate with 29 independent candidates to withdraw their candidatures to minimise vote division. As a result, 22 candidates withdrew. We identified 70 Critical Constituencies where BJP won by less than 1000 votes during the 2018 election. Our volunteers visited the voters' houses and explained to them why this time they should not vote for the BJP. We had four Jathas organised to reach approximately two 2 lakh people. We organised 50 dharnas which included groups like farmers, labourers, Dalits, women, students, and Adivasis. We never used filthy or aggressive language to reach a large number of middle-class voters.
Could you clarify whether you position Eddelu Karnataka as a civil society organization, a social movement, or a political party?
To date, it is a civil society movement without any political aspirations. Currently, the team is focussing on the 2024 Lok Sabha elections with new strategies.
Do you have any specific ideological inclinations or political party affiliations? What are the primary areas of focus? Is it primarily directed against right-wing politics?
As one could understand, the members of civil society have mixed ideologies. However, during the election, we brought down our differences and convinced the people to 'Vote out BJP'. It worked out. Both JDS and Congress made use of our campaign and finally, BJP was voted out.
Could you share the insights gained from the Karnataka Elections and your assessment of Eddelu Karnataka's performance during this time?
Actually, the anti-BJP / RSS forces are divided into many groups. Although they are all against the Sangh Parivar, it is very difficult to bring them together under one roof. Another problem was that many civil society members were egoistic and self-centered. Many of them think that they know everything, but in reality, they know nothing. Educating them on current issues like globalisation, Hindutva politics, etc was really challenging. Most of them were not ready to come out of their comfort zones. In this context, one could achieve short-term goals, but not long-term goals.
Are there any plans to expand, collaborate, or affiliate with other organizations in different states?
Yes, we are trying for it. Keeping our legs in the State, how much we could expand ourselves at the National level is a big question before us. We are in the process of organizing a national-level meeting in Bangalore in October 2023.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming general election in 2024? Do you believe the newly formed INDIA alliance has the potential to challenge the NDA?
The picture is not yet clear. There are leaders in the INDIA alliance who hate each other. Many of them are aspiring for power, but don't understand the real threat of BJP continuing in power. Our constitution, pluralism, and democracy are in deep crisis. Liberalism is under assault. BJP appears intent on transforming India's open, and secular state into an ethnic and illiberal democracy. Academic freedom has been curtailed. The media has already knelt down before the fascist forces. As a result, India's future as a liberal democracy appears to be at risk. Opposition leaders should come unitedly to protect India leaving behind their short-term selfish goals.
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