Someone asked about Kasurgod. In the MLA election BJP lost by a very slim margin in Kasurgod. Current BJP candidate for the MP election is Raveesh Thantri Kuntar, ( who also stood for the MLA election, see link below) a well known priest (Thanthri) associated with the Kuntar temple that lies between Sullia(Dakshin Kannada, Karnataka) and Kasurgod (Kerala). He has been associated with the performance of
Ashtamangala and other yajnas. However, Kasurgod is a big centre for gold smuggling, every week Mangalore airport sees an arrest with a RoPER arrested for trying to smuggle in gold through ingenious ways and almost all cases are Kasurgod residents. So RoPERS will prefer someone who does not meddle in their activities.
Sabarimala has had tremendous repercussions in Dakshin Kannada and people say that the site has become
bhrashta and this will feed into that vote there in Mangalore. Kasurgod has people who speak Tulu and Kannada, the bowler Anil Kumble for example is from Kumbhle a small town on the Mangalore-Kasurgod highway which is in Kerala!! But the general opinion is this is a tight election for the BJP in Kasurgod because of the demographics. Too close to call.
Historically the Chandragiri river (named in fact after Chandragupta Maurya) formed the traditional border between North Malabar and the Nayaka kings who ruled Dakshin Kannada and Kasurgod was part of Dakshin Kannada. One can even today find traces of the fortifications of the Nayaka kings and ruins of forts by the Chandragiri river. Most striking is the Hanuman temple on the National Highway 66 connecting Mangalore and Kasurgod next to the ruined walls of a Nayaka fort near Kumbhla(Kerala). This Hanuman was considered as the dwarpala of that fort and the temple is well-maintained and sees a lot of traffic as even long haul truckers on the Panvel-Trivandrum highway NH 66 stop by to ask this potent deity for protection. This is true for truckers from all over India. The name of the temple is Shri Kote Veeranjaneya temple and the name itself indicates its purpose Kote =Kota=Fort.
At the states re-organization all this was messed up to satisfy secular urges and traditional boundaries were disturbed.
https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/ ... 642618.ece