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Vokkaliga, Lingayat support to NDA led to Cong’s loss: Expert
Lingayats came in support of JD(S) candidates in Mandya and Hassan while the Vokkaligas stood behind the BJP’s Lingayat candidates in Tumkur and Shivamogga
Even though the Congress was able to improve its seat tally from one to nine in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the two dominant communities coming together, following the alliance between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), restricted the Congress’ hopes of crossing double digits, according to a political expert.
According to the people familiar with the matter, the Lingayats came in support of JD(S) candidates in Mandya and Hassan while the Vokkaligas stood behind the BJP’s Lingayat candidates in Tumkur and Shivamogga, besides Mysuru, where the scion of erstwhile Mysore royal family has been elected. Of the four constituencies that saw a face-off between Vokkaliga candidates, the NDA won three.
Political expert A Narayana said that whenever the two dominant communities come together, there is concern for the opposing party. In 1996, when Lingayats and Vokkaligas came together, the United Janata Dal won 16 seats leading HD Deve Gowda to the post of Prime Minister. “In many constituencies Kolar, Chitradurga and Tumkur, the two communities have voted for alliance. As of now, Lingayats and Vokkaligas are strongly with the alliance,” he said.
The Lingayat community, constituting around 14% of Karnataka’s electorate, has traditionally supported the BJP. During the poll campaign, the BJP intensified efforts to garner support from this influential group following setbacks in the previous assembly elections. To regain footing, the BJP appointed BY Raghavendra, Yediyurappa’s son, as the state party president and fielded nine candidates from the community, including Basavaraj Bommai and Jagadish Shettar.
According to the BJP, the appointment of Vijayendra as the party’s chief contributed to the Lingayats rallying behind the party. “After the removal of Yediyurappa as the CM, there was anger among the Lingayat voters and it was evident in the assembly elections. But, the party’s victory in Mumbai (Kitoor) Karnataka shows that the party has the support of the Lingayats,” said an advisor to Vijayendra.
Similarly, the ruling Congress faced a major setback in the old Mysore region, with the BJP-JD(S) alliance dominating the Vokkaliga heartland.
Despite high expectations, Congress managed to win only Chamarajanagar and Hassan Lok Sabha seats, compared to its previous win of 39 out of 54 seats in the last assembly elections.
The BJP-JDS alliance’s success in southern districts is largely credited to the consolidation of Vokkaliga votes behind JD(S). “The community, which supported Shivakumar in the assembly elections, rallied behind Kumaraswamy, anticipating a significant role for him if the NDA retains power at the Centre,” said a senior Congress leader.
