Campaigning for the second phase of Parliamentary polls, in the 14 of the 28 remaining constituencies in Karnataka, scheduled for May 7, has intensified in the largely Lingayat dominated belt. In Karnataka, the first phase on April 26 mainly covered the Vokkaliga and the backward, minority and Dalit communities.
With the focus now shifting to North Karnataka, Malnad and parts of the state’s coastal belt, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is determined to regain the confidence of the Lingayat community this time. The party is hoping to recover from the jolt that it received from its otherwise reliable support base during the 2023 Assembly polls.
In the last Parliamentary polls, the BJP had erased the Congress’ presence from this belt, winning all the 14 constituencies that went to the polls. In the process it raised its overall tally from the state in 2019 to 25.
In the Assembly polls of 2023, however, the party barely managed to get a poor percentage of Lingayat MLAs elected against the 70 odd that it had fielded. In contrast, the Congress tapped the emotions of the community whose leaders were upset with the BJP for sidelining former Chief Ministers, B. S. Yediyurappa and Jagdish Shettar, in addition to another stalwart in Laxman Savadi.
In fact, an elated Congress leadership could not help but pinch itself to check if it was dreaming when a sizable number of its Lingayat candidates won with ease. This ultimately saw the party get a brute majority in the Assembly, and a shocked BJP was left licking its wounds.
The Right Wing party, however, appears to have learnt lessons from its experience of 2023, judging by the importance it has now given to Yediyurappa by making him a member of its Parliamentary Committee. Besides, of course,bringing home Shettar, who had deserted the parent party on the eve of the assembly polls, to join the Congress.
Now, in the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, the BJP is hoping that its reliable vote bank will help it in achieving an encore of the 2019 Parliamentary polls. However, it remains apprehensive about the negative impact the sexual harassment tapes reportedly involving Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna, can have on the voters in the second phase.
Recently, while in Shimoga, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had called out Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for seeking votes on Prajwal Revanna’s behalf in Hassan. Gandhi reportedly referred to Prajwal, grandson of former Prime Minister Deve Gowda, as a “mass rapist.”
The Congress is seeking to milk this controversy to its advantage, not only in Karnataka but other states as well, accusing the BJP of entering into an alliance with a party like the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) for the Lok Sabha polls. This issue apart, the Congress is confident of retaining its newly acquired Lingayat support. It is banking on the “five guarantees” that it implemented on assuming power in the state.
Providing it the much needed shot in the arm is the BJP’s awkwardness in responding to Gandhi’s demand that the PM should apologise to every woman of the country for seeking votes for the tainted National Democratic Alliance ( NDA ) candidate.
Here, it is worth remembering that the Lingayats account for over 17 per cent of the 5.4 crore population with the Vokkaligas coming a close second at about 14 per cent or so. Dalits, minorities, ST, SCs and the Other Backward Classes (OBC) account for the balance. While both the BJP and Congress are vying for the Lingayat votes in the second phase, the Vokkaligas account for a small percentage of the population in these constituencies.
The May 7 polls are crucial for the BJP’s candidates, including former CMs Basvaraj Bommai in Haveri, and Jagdish Shettar in Belagavi. Union Minister for Coal, Prahlad Joshi, is fighting his fifth consecutive election from Dharwad and has been winning the seat since 2004. However, he is now facing a challenge from none other than the prominent Lingayat seer, Dingaleshwar.
The pontiff has accused Joshi of marginalising the Lingayats. Even though Dingaleshwar has withdrawn from the electoral contest after filing his nomination as an independent against Joshi, he continues to canvas against the Union Minister. Predictably, the Congress candidate Vinod Asooti, an OBC leader, is not complaining.
Shettar, on his part, is contesting against electoral novice Mrinal Hebbalkar of the Congress. He is the son of Laxmi Hebalkar, state minister for women and child development. Similarly, Bommai is fighting from Haveri and his main opponent is Anandswamy Gaddavadevaramutt of the Congress.
While Bommai is confident of retaining the seat for the BJP, he appears to have annoyed the Panchamasali sect of the Lingayats. They are unhappy over Bommai’s handling of the reservation issue.
The former CM had raised the sect’s reservation share just before the Assembly polls, in the process scrapping the four percent that was earmarked for Muslims. The decision was, however, stayed by the Supreme Court.
Accordingly, the aggrieved Panchamasali Mutt swamis feel that Bommai did not handle the issue well in the process letting the sect down. Significantly, Bommai and other BJP candidates from the region are banking on Modi’s guarantee and promises of assured development of the country.
Yet another important constituency in the second phase is Shimoga, comprising eight Assembly segments. It is recognised as the Yediyurappa family’s bastion since 2009. The incumbent MP and Yediyurappa’s son, B. Raghavendra, is seeking to retain his seat.
The MP from Shimoga, however, is up against BJP’s senior leader K. Eshwarappa, who is fighting as an Independent candidate. He reportedly wants to “teach the Yediyurappa family a lesson” for not giving a ticket to his son, Kantesh.
The former Dy. CM has been expelled by the BJP for anti party activities. Incidentally, while fighting against the BJP, Eshwarappa continues to swear by the Prime Minister.
The fight in Shimoga has also become interesting because of the Congress candidate, Geetha Shivarajkumar, wife of actor Shivarajkumar. She is also the daughter of former Congress CM S. Bangarappa.
Geetha hopes to capitalise on the guarantees implemented by her party in addition to her husband’s popularity. The BJP will, therefore, have to overcome the challenges from both Geetha and Eshwarappa, this time.