Hyderabad: The results of the elections in Karnataka have shown that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) attempts to court the Lingayat community did not pay off, as the Congress made significant gains in seats dominated by this influential community. Lingayats constitute about 17% of Karnataka's population, which means they can potentially swing outcomes in as many as 75 seats.
The Lingayat community is known to be a key support base of the BJP. The BJP has tall leaders from the community, including veteran BS Yediyurappa and incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai. However, the BJP's score on Lingayat-dominated seats dropped.
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The BJP's poor performance in these seats comes despite a desperate attempt to reach out to Lingayats during the run-up to the polls. In March, the BJP government decided to abolish the four per cent reservation for Muslims and reallocate the quota among the influential Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Muslims, who were eligible for reservation benefits, were categorised under the category of the economically weaker section. The move was seen as the ruling party's desperate attempt to ensure the support of Lingayats and Vokkaligas ahead of a tough electoral contest.
The BJP government's decision to abolish reservations for Muslims has been challenged in the Supreme Court. Arguing in court, the Basavaraj Bommai government had said that it had taken a "conscious decision" not to continue with reservation on the sole basis of religion as it is unconstitutional. The BJP's chances to draw Lingayat votes became a talking point yet again when Jagadish Shettar, a prominent leader of the community and a former Chief Minister, switched over to the Congress. However, Yediyurappa had said in the run-up to elections that the BJP had the complete support of the Lingayats. "Hundred per cent of the Lingayat community is with us. Congress is trying their level best to create some problems, but almost all Lingayats seers are with us and told me that they will support BJP," he had said.
The Congress, on the other hand, had reached out to the Lingayat community by supporting their demand for a separate religious status. In 2018, the Congress government led by Siddaramaiah granted Lingayats the status of a separate religion. However, the BJP opposed this move and alleged that it was a ploy to divide the Hindu community.
The results of the recent elections have shown that Congress's strategy seems to have paid off, as it has made significant gains in Lingayat-dominated seats. This is a significant setback for the BJP, which had hoped to draw the community's support by abolishing reservation for Muslims and reallocating it to Lingayats. The Lingayat community has traditionally been a strong supporter of the BJP, but the recent trends in Karnataka suggest that the community is no longer a vote bank that the party can rely on blindly.
