Udupi: Amidst the ‘Chowkidar,’ ‘Rafale,’ and a host of other election issues, the hashtag campaign, ‘JPH4UdupiChikmagalur2019’ is trending on social media, grabbing the attention of the people of the constituency.
It is spearheaded by a section of BJP workers demanding a party ticket for former MP, Jayaprakash Hegde instead of sitting MP, Shobha Karandlaje, who they allege has hardly responded to the people of her constituency and only concentrated on state politics for the duration of her term in parliament. Between a 1000 and 3000 tweets are being posted every day on Twitter as part of the campaign, which began in Udupi, tagging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, national BJP president, Amit Shah, the PMO office, state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa, the state BJP office and other leaders.
"Hegde has served as a minister in the state government and won as an independent due to his close association with the people. We need a leader like him , who works for the people and not just anybody, who comes here only during elections," said a supporter of the former MP.
But others in the BJP are lukewarm to the campaign as Mr Hegde is a former Congressman and believe that even if Ms Karandlaje is unpopular, the “Modi wave” will see her through the election. "The Twitter campaign is more of a gimmick," alleged a party leader, claiming that more than backing Mr Hegde, it is aimed at getting even with Ms Karandlaje. “But they will not succeed in damaging the BJP. We are confident of winning from Udupi-Chikmagaluru due to the Modi wave," he asserted.
