Karnataka Election, 2023: Who Is Yashpal Suvarna, The BJP Udupi Candidate For Whom Sitting MLA Made Way?

Yashpal Suvarna, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader known for opposing the hijab in college premises, has been given the party ticket for Udupi Assembly constituency in Karnataka.

The BJP replaced Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Raghupathi Bhat with Suvarna, who will contest for the very first time, in their first list of 189 candidates.

According to sources in the party, the coastal region was requesting for a leader from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), who has executed work at the grassroots level, to be given a ticket.

Bhat, a three-time winner from Udupi, is a Brahmin leader. Suvarna is a Mogaveera, an OBC group. He is the national general secretary for the BJP OBC Morcha.

Bhat believed he would get the ticket, until he didn't.

Soon after the BJP high command declared the ticket in Delhi, Bhat told The Indian Express that he had no cause for dissatisfaction. "I have worked for the party and it has recognised my contribution. I am grateful," he said.

Suvarna expressed confidence in winning the support of Bhat's disappointed followers. "In Udupi, the party is more important than the individual. Once the ticket is announced, everyone will work for the party and I am confident about it."

Suvarna, vice president of the Development Committee of Udupi Government PU Girls' College, was a staunch advocate during the hijab row at the college.

He had labelled the six student court petitioners as "terrorists" and believed they were "anti-nationals" for not abiding by the law.

Suvarna's actions, such as providing saffron shawls to counter girls wearing hijabs, caused the episode to linger and spread to other areas of the state, according to a party source.

Over the years, Suvarna has gained significant influence among the Mogaveera community, which is predominantly engaged in fishing.

"The saying goes that in coastal Karnataka, whoever controls the seas, controls the region, and it is true in Suvarna’s case," explains an Indian Express report.

Suvarna has also been the president of the Cooperative Fish Marketing Federation in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts for 13 years.

His family has had ties with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. His uncle Raghunath, an RSS worker, contested the Surathkal Assembly seat in 1980, but was unsuccessful.

Suvarna's college years saw his involvement with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Bajrang Dal. He gained local recognition as a cow vigilante in his late 20s.