Karnataka elections result 2023: BJP MLA who imposed Hijab ban defeated by Congress

Karnataka elections result 2023: The Tiptur constituency saw Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and state minister BC Nagesh being defeated by Congress candidate K Shadakshari. 

K Shadakshari won the Tiptur constituency and defeated the BJP candidate by a margin of 17,652 votes. Tiptur constituency comes under Tumkur district. 

In 2018, the seat had been won by BJP . The winning candidate was BC Nagesh. The Congress candidate K Shadakshari had come in second place.

In the 2013 Assembly election, the seat had been won by K. Shadakshari of the Congress . The BJP candidate BC Nagesh had come in second place.

Nagesh has been inducted as minister in 2021 after Basavaraj Bommai took charge as chief minister.

Notably, the education minister BC Nagesh had termed wearing of Hijab as an "act of indiscipline". The students could not practise their "religion" in public educational institutions, in his view.

Nagesh was reacting to an incident that occured in early January 2022, a dispute over the wearing of the hijab was reported at a government-run Pre-University College for Girls at Udupi that had disallowed the wearing of hijab as being in violation of its uniform policy. 

Six Muslim female students insisted on wearing hijab to classes on top of their college uniform, arguing that hijab was part of their faith, and their constitutional right. The college allowed them to wear the hijab on campus, but did not allow them into classes.

To recap, in February last year, the Karnataka government issued an order stating that the uniforms mandated by the state government, the school managements or college development committees must be worn compulsorily. Students following religious tenents adversely impacted "equality and unity" in colleges, according to the order. 

BC Nagesh had made the order declaring declaring, "those who want to defy the government's school uniform regulations cannot enter their schools and attend classes".

The Hijab ban protests had spread all across the country with Muslim girls and women seeking permission from Supreme Court to wear their scarf to classes. The fallout of the state government imposed stricture on uniform caused several protestant demonstrations. 

In Kundapura, 28 students wearing hijab were barred from entering the Government PU College premises on 3 February. Hindu students had apparently come in saffron scarves the previous day, and the minister BC Nagesh informed the college that students could come to classes in only uniforms and neither hijab nor saffron scarves would be allowed.

A study published by human rights body People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) reported that the move to ban hijab has widened the social divide and increased fear among Muslims in Karnataka.