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K’taka polls: Cong makes inroads in crucial Lingayat bastion
The Lingayat community, which traditionally supports the BJP, appears to have splintered
The Congress appears to have made inroads in the Bharatiya Janata Party’s traditional stronghold of the Bombay Karnataka sub-region, even as it reaffirmed its grip over the Hyderabad region, an indication that the votes within the Lingayat community, which has traditionally sided with the BJP, may have splintered.
Votes within the community appear to have fractured despite the BJP government enhancing reservation for Lingayats by two percentage points, in what was one of the party’s flagship moves in the run-up to the May 10 elections.
Lingayats constitute about 17% of Karnataka’s population and hold sway in between 90 and 100 of the state’s 224 constituencies. The community has propelled the BJP to power in the state in the past, largely driven by the influence of former chief minister and senior leader BS Yediyurappa, a venerated Lingayat leader.
Experts outlined two key reasons for this likely shift. First, the BJP removing Yediyurappa as chief minister in 2021 and replacing him with Bommai (another senior Lingayat leader), and second, the party denying tickets to two senior Lingayat leaders – former CM Jagadish Shettar and deputy CM Laxman Savadi, both of whom eventually contested on Congress tickets.
In the Bombay Karnataka sub-region, which sends 50 MLAs to the 224-member house, the Congress snatched 33 seats, nearly double its 2018 tally of 17.
The BJP, conversely, sharply ceded ground to the Congress, with its count nearly halving from 30 in 2018 to 16 this time.
The Congress improved its tally in the Hyderabad Karnataka region, the home turf of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge, as well, with its seat share rising from 20 in 2018 to 26 this year.
Again, the Congress appeared to eat into the BJP’s votes, with the latter’s tally falling to 10 this year, from 17 in 2018.
Experts said the BJP stamping its retirement rule on Yediyurappa in 2021 stoked discontentment within the Lingayat electorate.
The Panchamasali Lingayats, the most backward in the community, were particularly displeased with the BJP, said experts.
“The party’s decision to sideline the Lingayat strongman by asking him to step down as the chief minister a year into his term may have triggered a backlash from the community,” political analyst Chambi Puranik said.
The exit of two major Lingayat faces, Shettar and Savadi, is also likely to have played a role in the community’s shifting allegiance, Puranik added.
To be sure, Shettar lost to the BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai in Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency, securing 60,775 votes against his rivals 95,064.
Savadi, though, swept the Athani seat, winning 131,404 votes, against BJP’s Mahesh Kumathalli, who got 55,282.
Puranik also said the delay in enhancing reservations for Lingayats and the Karnataka government later informing the Supreme Court that the decision was “on hold” did not go down well with the community.
“They (Lingayats) felt cheated and the Congress played well on this sentiment,” he said.
