In 'Land of seven languages', BJP fields polyglot woman candidate

KASARAGOD: With a jovial smile and friendly demeanour, a young woman candidate can be seen seeking votes from people in multiple languages in Kasaragod, Kerala's northernmost Lok Sabha constituency.

Ashwini ML, the 38-year-old teacher who has been fielded by the BJP, effortlessly switches between Malayalam, Kannada and Tulu, while interacting with people in Kasaragod, which is known as the ‘Land of seven languages’ with a significant number also speaking Marathi, Konkani, Byari and Urdu.

The Mahila Morcha leader’s candidature from the BJP for the April 26 Lok Sabha polls came as a surprise, but her linguistic skills are helping her stand out.

Kasaragod, which shares a border with neighbouring Karnataka, is known for its linguistic diversity. According to the 2011 census, 82.07 per cent people here speak Malayalam, 4.02 per cent speak Kannada, 8.08 per cent Tulu and 1.8 per cent Marathi. Around 30,000 and 25,000 people speak Urdu and Konkani respectively.

Though the names of many senior party leaders were doing the rounds initially, Ashwini was fielded as the BJP candidate in the constituency which had been a stronghold of the Left for long.

The winds of change were felt in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls when Congress’ Rajmohan Unnithan trumped Sathish Chandran of the CPI(M) by around 40,000 votes. While the former won 4,74,961 votes, the latter managed 4,34,523 with the BJP nominee Ravisha Tantri Kuntar getting only 1,76,049.

While contesting against sitting MP Unnithan and ruling CPI (M)'s popular local leader M V Balakrishnan Master, Ashwini believes that her command over multiple languages would help her connect better with the voters, given that linguistic minorities have a significant influence here.

Ashwini said she is also familiar with Tamil, Hindi and English, apart from Malayalam, Kannada and Tulu."It gives me additional confidence during the campaigning," she told PTI.

Born and brought up in Karnataka and growing up among Tamil and Hindi-speaking neighbours, Ashwini has been exposed to multiple languages since her childhood.

She said that though she is a Malayali, her parents had settled down in Bengaluru decades ago and she came to Kasaragod a few years ago after marriage.

"As I was born, brought up and studied in Bengaluru, Kannada has been part of my life since childhood. As we had neighbours from Tamil Nadu and friends from north Indian states, there was no difficulty in learning Tamil and Hindi," she said.

She learnt Tulu from relatives who have lived in Karnataka for a long time.

"When we talk to the voters in their own language, they will definitely have a fondness for us," she said. She said multilingual skills are also a good way to connect with senior citizens and women voters.

"In certain areas, people don’t understand Malayalam. There I switched to Kannadai. It makes them happy. Many even appreciated me for this," she said.

Currently serving as a block panchayat member in Manjeshwaram here for the last three years, Aswini said people of the constituency have been suffering from lack of infrastructure facilities and underdevelopment for years.

People of Kasaragod have been dependent on neighbouring Karnataka for better hospital facilities and educational institutions for decades, she said.

"Hundreds of students are travelling to Karnataka for their education as there are no good colleges here. There are also no good medical facilities. Drinking water issues are also acute," she said.

People of the constituency are wishing for a change and hence would choose a BJP-NDA candidate this time, she claimed.

Ashwini said she came to politics accidentally while serving as a teacher and has been active in the party since being selected as the national executive member of the Mahila Morcha. She has travelled to over ten states as part of organisational activities, election related assignments and to participate in various meetings.

"Our vote percentage will definitely go up in Kasaragod this time. Women and youth will definitely vote for me. I am fully confident about the BJP's victory here this time," the candidate added.

Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency comprises assembly segments of Manjeshwaram, Kasaragod, Udma, Kanhangad, Trikaripur, and Payyanur and Kalliasseri of nearby Kannur district.