Union minister Anantkumar Hegde, 49, may be perceived as an alternative chief ministerial candidate to the much older BS Yeddyurappa by a section of the BJP and its supporters in Karnataka, but his fiery speeches appear to “turn off” as many people as they inspire in his Lok Sabha constituency of Uttara Kannada. 

A number of voters in the constituency told ET that Hegde was either inaccessible or dismissive of people who approached him for help, even as others rallied to his support. Hegde, who was flying high at the start of the BJP campaign for Karnataka about six months ago, has been keeping a low profile after being reportedly warned by the party’s national leadership over his remark at an event in his constituency that the BJP would “amend the Constitution” which contains the word “secular”. 

Nonetheless, Hegde’s name is still doing the rounds in several parts of the state as the “Yogi Adityanath of Karnataka”. “Yeddyurappa may be made CM (if the BJP wins the election) for just a short while and replaced on health grounds by our firebrand Hegde. That’s what we think,” said Pradeep Poojary, a voter in his 20s in Moodabidre in Dakshina Kannada district. 

Hegde has his fans among the youth, such as Venkataramana Bhat in Ummachagi in Yellapur assembly segment, held by the Congress. “I like the way he speaks and his style,” Bhat said.