Hassan/Mandya/Mysore: Long before VP Singh became the messiah of social justice, Congress chief minister Devaraj Urs used the strategy to end the dominance of the dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities in Karnataka politics in the 1970s.
Three decades after the Havanur Commission changed the lives of OBCs, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai navigated Karnataka’s complex caste cauldron to reconfigure the quota matrix.
In doing so, the BJP challenged Congress leader Siddaramaiah’s Ahinda strategy (a combination of minorities, backward classes and Dalits) by increasing the Lingayat and Vokkaliga quotas. The BJP considers the most backward class among the Dalits as its vote bank.
The party is banking on a few key factors to secure a majority in the assembly elections to be held on May 10. , The charisma of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Lingayat appeal of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, and Bommai’s quota reshuffle, in the hope of breaking the HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) stronghold in south Karnataka.
“The caste classification done by the Bommai government will be a game changer in the Karnataka elections. Many previous governments tried (it), but they were hesitant to implement it. The Bommai government has achieved the next level of social justice by increasing reservations for communities,” Karnataka BJP in-charge and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan told ThePrint.
There are few supporters of BJP’s Hindutva politics in Bettadatunga, the native village of former chief minister Devraj Urs. But many see the change in BJP’s quota as having the potential to reverse the caste arithmetic of the JD(S) and the Congress, albeit with a condition.
Raju Gowda, a Vokkaliga farmer from Bettadatunga summed up the mood with his comments. “BJP has done a good job by increasing reservation for Vokkaligas, Lingayats and other castes, but it should have implemented this decision earlier. Very few people know about the new reservation formula. We are traditionally supporters of Deve Gowda who has worked for the farmers. We cannot betray her in her old age,” he told ThePrint.
Rajesh, sitting next to Raju, affirmed the good work done by the ruling party in the state. Rajesh comes from the Madiga community, one of the largest groups of scheduled castes in Karnataka.
“The BJP government has built houses for Dalits. During Kovid we were given free ration, given free vaccine which saved our lives. We want our children to do IT jobs in Bangalore. The decision of the government to give more reservation for our community will make our life easier. Despite being a Gowda constituency, we will support the BJP in the elections.
It explains why BJP stalwarts, including Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President JP Nadda, attacked Congress veteran Siddaramaiah at rally after rally for not implementing caste-based reservations for disadvantaged groups when he was chief minister from 2013 to 2018. Hit the target
The strategy of reorganizing the quota, however, is not working in areas where the BJP does not have a strong leader.
An hour’s drive from Bettadatunga is Baj Mangala village, which falls in Varuna constituency, where Siddaramaiah is up against BJP’s Housing Minister V. Somanna.
“Who here knows Somanna? Siddaramaiah has done many things for the Dalits. He knows everyone by name. There is no chance for the BJP… they may get votes but it will be very difficult to win,” Ramesh, a Dalit farmer, told ThePrint.
But in Kochanahalli village, Suresha, a Lingayat farmer, had a slightly different view of the electoral battle. Sommana is giving a good fight to Siddaramaiah, but sympathy is with Siddaramaiah who has declared that this is his last election.
When Amit Shah visited Varuna on 2 May, the BJP veteran promised voters that if he ensured Somanna’s victory, he would be given an important position in the government. The word spread in the constituency that Somanna might be given the chief minister’s post.
Despite his reluctance to contest from the constituency, Somanna’s selection was a considered decision by the BJP. The five-time MLA was Mysuru’s district minister during the Covid pandemic and is well-versed in local politics.
With the presence of Suttur Math, a prominent Lingayat mutt in the region, the BJP is banking on the Lingayat leader to repeat the act of mass murder of JD(S) candidate GT Gowda, who defeated Siddaramaiah in Chamundeshwari in 2018.
Knowing full well that the Congress and the JD(S) called off their ploy in the old Mysore region five years ago, the BJP has placed a huge premium in this opposition bastion through a Vokkaliga push.
Modi has visited Mysore eight times since 2014. The BJP tried to spin a story around Tipu Sultan, but after an outcry from the head of a monastery, it backtracked on the Tipu story.
Since the BJP does not have any tall leader in the region, it is betting on two senior ministers: Somanna in Varuna and Vokkaliga R Ashoka in Kanakapura. Ashok is contesting Congress state president DK Shivakumar in his home constituency.
By fielding Somanna in Varuna and Chamarajanagar, the BJP is looking to consolidate the Lingayat vote bank in the constituencies of Chamarajanagar and Mysore districts.
Shivam Rappa runs a cigarette and betel shop in Bekuppe circle in Kanakapura taluka of Ramanagara district. “The fight here is one-sided. Shivakumar has done many projects here, from hospitals to schools… Also, he is available during emergencies. He alone helps here. Hence, there is no chance of Ashok winning,” said the Lingayat shopkeeper.
The belief is reiterated by a group of women, all laborers in rice mills, waiting to board buses on the Kanakapura main road.
“Our entire earnings are spent on meeting the daily requirements of ration…Gas cylinders are so expensive that we cannot save a single penny. Inflation has broken all records in the BJP government. We hope that Shivkumar saheb government will make our life easier.
A few kilometers away from the main Kanakapura, a group of farmers, including Ramanna, were resting at a tea stall to beat the heat. He was watching a man dressed in saffron clothes busy in election campaign.
“Shivkumar has brought everything from hospital to school. The BJP government took away a medical college sanctioned here to punish voters who remained loyal to it. Why would people leave Shivakumar for Ashoka who campaigned here only twice?” Ramanna asked.
Revenue Minister R. Ashok, who is also contesting from Padmanabhanagar, has an uphill task as the BJP’s average vote share in this Congress bastion does not exceed 4 per cent.
The minister showed bravery when asked about his chances of winning in Kanakapura. “The high command has sent me with a strategy to build the party and win the elections. We are moving in this direction to defeat them.
Shivakumar’s campaign is being overseen by his wife Usha and son Akash, while senior BJP leader Ashwath Narayan is handling Ashok’s campaign.
Ashwath Narayan also admitted to ThePrint that Kanakapura is a difficult constituency as “Shivakumar’s men are doing everything to intimidate BJP workers, but we are marching ahead with energy to challenge their empire”.
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Factors that the BJP cannot ignore
In southern Karnataka, the BJP is keenly watching the electoral performance of the JD(S). On its part, the ruling party has pushed the caste balance and its renewed Vokkaligas to weaken Deve Gowda’s bastion.
When he visited Mandya before the announcement of elections, Amit Shah alleged that Kumaraswamy was the most corrupt leader. Earlier this week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched his campaign from Mandya, where the Adichunchangiri Math is located. The Math is said to have close links with the Gorakhnath Math in Uttar Pradesh, which is headed by none other than the Chief Minister of UP himself.
With a total of 61 seats, southern Karnataka has assumed importance for the BJP as it is not only a JD(S) turf but also home to areas that are strongholds of Congress heavyweights Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar.
The JD(S) has retained its influence in the region despite its internal problems and family disputes. The party had won 58 seats in 2004, 30 in 2008, 40 in 2013 and 37 in 2018.
Though not many people are open to Hindutva politics in southern Karnataka, the BJP is optimistic about its electoral prospects as a recent survey showed that along with government schemes like Ujjwala, Kisan Samman Nidhi and PM Awas Yojana The free Covid vaccine has received a good response. by the people.
In Hassan district, where Deve Gowda started his political career, non-politicians are campaigning aggressively unlike in previous elections. In 2018, the JD(S) had won six seats in the district except Hassan. The JD(S) patriarch has given an emotional pitch to voters in Hassan to show the door to BJP MLA Pritam Gowda.
TS Murthy, who runs a cycle shop in Hassan, said Pritam helped people during the pandemic as he organized vaccination camps and stood by the villagers.
“They constructed houses by organizing camps for applying under the housing scheme. Despite Deve Gowda being the tallest leader in the region, we want to find more BJP to bring about change,” he said.
A senior central BJP functionary told ThePrint that the party had invested heavily in old Mysore.
“We are expecting a good show in our traditional strongholds of Coastal and Malnad region, north Karnataka… but our focus is on the old Mysore region. We have invested a lot of resources in Old Mysore. Just as we weaned away a major chunk of Dalit votes from Mayawati in UP, we are trying to wean away Vokkaligas from the JD(S) and break Dalit consolidation in favor of the Congress. We are hoping to double our seats in this region to get a majority.
(Edited by Tony Rae)
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