He Did Great Developmental Work for the City, But Sadly J R Lobo Got BETRAYED by…..?

He Did Great Developmental Work for the City, But Sadly J R Lobo Got BETRAYED by…..?

Mangaluru: It came as a shock for many citizens of Mangaluru, including the Assembly Election candidate J R Lobo, when the results were announced that Lobo had lost to his opponent by a margin of a large number of votes. How come his opponent, a newcomer into politics, could be so popular to win such a large number of votes, was the question many asked. Some even said that community people which Lobo belongs to must have abstained from voting or might have cast their votes to his opponent. That could be possible – when a person named Judas betrayed Jesus Christ, similarly in this case, a bunch of ” Judas’ ” might have BETRAYED MLA J R Lobo. Oh well.

Some even say that J R Lobo’s involvement in Light House Hill Rd/St Aloysius College Road issue might have lost the votes of the Bunt community. That could be possible too. Also, with J R Lobo losing with such a large margin of votes against a first time candidate, many people blame it on the hacking of EVMs. That could be possible too. But whatever the reasons are, a popular and much loved MLA of Mangaluru, J R Lobo didn’t deserve to lose like this – which is not just a shock, but kind of very hurtful to Lobo and also his followers.

So what went wrong, for Congress to face such a miserable defeat in Mangaluru and Udupi? According to a senior journalist of Mangaluru, who had quoted his views in a national daily newspaper, he said that it could be revenge or polarization, where BJP had come back and swept the entire coast, bagging 16 out of 19 seats in DK, Udupi and Uttara Kannada. In 2013, BJP had won only three seats out of 19 in these districts. Also according to a Professor at Mangaluru University, “It was polarization against Congress’ divisive policies which helped the BJP. New voters are now against division of people on the basis of caste and community. These are the days of competition, which has made young voters follow the ideas of PM Modi, who speaks of one India, irrespective of caste, religion, regional feelings and linguistic issues. So this has made the young voters to vote for BJP.” Could this be True or False?

Another reason is that communal polarization has also worked on the coast to a great extent. The coast is known as the Hindutva laboratory, whether or not the anti-Modi rhetoric by Congress campaigners has hurt the majority community, they attacked Modi as a person too many times and did not have the capacity to question his policies. The overtly community directed appeasement policies of the Congress did great damage to the party, feel academics. That also could be possible.

On the other hand, yet another Head of a Political Science department at University of Mysuru had said, “It was not communal polarization that wrecked the chances of the Congress, but caste polarization in the coast. Just like the Lingayats, Brahmins, Vokkaligas and SCs in the rest of the state, the Coast has seen three major castes – the Bunts, Billavas and Brahmins [3Bs] – polarizing to a common cause, a tame affair compared to religious polarization. Voters on the coast are far more organized in thoughts and action, which is why the BJP has swept the coast entirely”. That also could be possible.

But whatever the reasons are, Congress in this coastal region never expected such a big defeat. With all the developmental works taken up by the Congress MLAs, including J R Lobo, they thought it would help them retain the seats. Unfortunately, it worked the other way, giving the opponents a win in the battle. It also showed how BJP candidates reflected a consolidation of votes cutting across caste and religion affiliations. Many of the BJP candidates who won in this assembly elections, some of them first timers, have admitted and said that it was a stunning mandate that they acknowledged as “Unexpected”? So how did BJP get such a large majority of votes? Who will give the real answer to these questions? Oh well- something went wrong somewhere!

On 10 May 2018, MLA J R Lobo prior to the election date on 12 May 2018, had mentioned in his website stating, “Namasthe, my dear Mangalurean brothers and sisters, I would like to offer my sincere gratitude for placing your trust in me as your elected People’s representative of Mangaluru South Constituency for the past five years. I joined politics to give back to our city through public service. I had a dream and a vision for the peace and development of Mangaluru and prosperity of all Mangalureans.”

“With your unceasing support, we were able to initiate and complete numerous projects ranging from continuous water supply, better roads, housing for the poor, upgrading of local markets, underground drainage systems, efficient solid waste management, Pilikula Nisargadhama Project, development of tourism, trade and industry, etc. Several other IT initiatives are at various stages of approval and execution. You gave me the support, ideas, and encouragement to beautify this Mangaluru South Constituency of ours.”

“Being your MLA has been the greatest honour of my life. On 12th May, 2018 you will decide whether you will give me an opportunity to serve you with renewed energy. A lot of miles to go and promises to keep for which we need to work shoulder to shoulder. I request you to vote for action and results, and not politics of hatred and divisiveness. Help me to fulfill my dream to make our Mangaluru a ‘Smarter City’ for the next generation. I promise you to uphold the ‘Dharma’ of our Constitution of motherland India. Karnatakada Hemme, Congress Mathomme! Jai Hind! Jai Karnataka!”. Seems like J R Lobo’s message didn’t convince the voters to exercise their franchise in favor of him.

But unfortunately, on 15 May 2018, when the election results were announced, J R Lobo’s dreams were completely shattered when he lost big time against his BJP opponent by a huge margin of votes. So once again, as a true gentleman and sincere politician, Lobo in his website had conveyed this message:

“Hello everyone. The past few days have been a difficult journey for me, as would be for many of you who have been my support since the last 5 years. A loss is never easy to accept, but it forces every one of us to take pause and think about our actions – past, present and future. The last assembly elections in 2013 gave the Congress and myself a mandate from the people who were unhappy with the state of things in our beloved Mangaluru City. Of those who have been following my work since then, you would know of the deep love and attachment I have for our great city.”

“My vision of putting Mangaluru on the Global map in terms of quality of living, safety, development, and job opportunities has progressed well since the past years. Unfortunately, in the current 2018 assembly elections the Congress Party did not attain the required majority to continue giving me the opportunity to bring to life the vision of a better Mangaluru. While this has come as a shock to most of us, we have to remember that change is inevitable in life. The important thing is to keep hope alive – hope for a better future worth leaving to our children. I am eternally grateful to you, Mangaluruens – young and old, rich and poor, people of all communities – for having given me an opportunity to serve you as your MLA in the past five years. Let us keep our heads high and the hope alive for an even better tomorrow.”

“I wish Vedavyasa Kamath the very best for the next five years, and hope that he works to serve the people of Mangaluru with the same, if not more, love and compassion as I put into my service in the past years. To the people of Mangaluru – I will continue working towards my vision of a Globally esteemed Mangaluru, in whatever capacity possible for the future. I would like to thank all my supporters, direct and indirect, the Indian National Congress party workers who have tirelessly worked alongside me to serve the people, and you, the people, who make all of the efforts worthwhile. Thank you once again for coming out in large numbers to vote for me. Love one another as you love your own family, as Mangaluru continues to surge forward as one family that cannot be separated by anything.”

Well said by MLA J R Lobo expressing his emotions and also thanking everyone for standing by him during the last few years. In sports, winning is not so important, but participation is a must and very important. Similarly, even though J R Lobo didn’t win and lost the privilege to serve the citizens of Mangaluru as their MLA or leader once again, we all should appreciate all the great developmental works that he did during his short tenure, with Dedication, Sincerity, Commitment and Sacrifice. He was no doubt a Great and Hard Working MLA that Mangaluru had seen in decades and it is very much doubtful that Managaluru will see an MLA like J R Lobo. Thank You, J R Lobo Sir, Your contribution to the City and Community is very much appreciated. May God bless you!