Yashpal Suvarna, one of the most hardline voices during the hijab controversy which erupted on January 2022 in Karnataka’s Udupi, has got a ticket from the sensitive Udupi Assembly constituency in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) first list of candidates released on Tuesday evening.
The vice-president of the Development Committee of Udupi Government PU Girls’ College, which has been at the centre of the controversy, Suvarna replaced sitting BJP MLA Raghpathi Bhat. Notably, he will be contesting Assembly elections for the first time.
A three-time MLA from Udupi, Bhat, who is a Brahmin, was confident of winning, and asserted till Tuesday morning that the party can’t sideline a loyal party worker like him. He added that if his name didn’t feature in the list, he would think about what next to do. After the names were announced, Bhat told The Indian Express that there were no reasons for him to be unhappy.
“I have worked for the party and it has recognised my contribution. I am grateful,” he said.
Meanwhile, Suvarna, who is a Mogaveera, which is an OBC group, said that in the district, the party is more important that an individual, and everyone will play a role in letting the party win.
Suvarna has been on the edge making controversial statements amid the hijab controversy, wherein at one point he labelled the six Muslim students who had moved the court over the issue, as “terrorists”, adding that he stands by his statement.
His actions during the hijab controversy, including “providing saffron shawls to students to counter the girls seeking to wear the hijab” ensured that issue remained simmered and also spread across other parts of the state, a party source told IE.
For the past 13 years, Suvarna has also been the president of the Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts’ Cooperative Fish Marketing Federation.
He was associated with the students’ wing of the BJP – Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – which was followed by his stint in Bajrang Dal. He was also called a cow vigilante in his late 20s. In 2005, Suvarna was named as the prime accused in the stripping and parading of a father and son for allegedly transporting calves. However, he was later acquitted by a special court.
Suvarna’s father was a banker, who quit his job to enter into the fishing business. The 45-year-old has emerged as a voice for the Mogaveera community that is largely employed in fishing.