Bengaluru: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) managed to win only 16 out of a total of 50 seats in six districts of Kittur-Karnataka (Northwest region), where Lingayats are the dominant community and hold significant seats.
The BJP had won 30 seats in these districts in 2018 and was banking on the support of Lingayats this time too. Out of the six districts in Haveri district, incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon) was the only BJP candidate to win, while the remaining seats went to the Congress.
The Congress, which was hoping to make the most of its gains in these parts and eat into the BJP’s core support base, almost doubled its tally as the number of seats increased from 17 in 2018 to 33 this time.
The Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S) won 1 seat in Vijayapura and did not win a single seat in all other districts of the region.
Since then In 1990, Virendra Patil was removed from the post of Chief Minister by Rajiv Gandhi. Lingayats in Karnataka have largely supported the BJP. After BS Yeddyurappa, this consolidation got further strength. Emerged as the tallest leader of the community.
The Kittur-Karnataka region, where Lingayats assert themselves in terms of voting patterns, comprises six districts, namely Gadag, Belagavi, Haveri, Dharwad, Vijayapura and Bagalkot. Of the 50 seats in these districts, the BJP won 30 in 2018, compared to 13 in 2013.
Although some constituencies in Uttara Kannada are also considered part of Kittur-Karnataka, the district is classified as being part of the Coastal region.
This time, the simmering anger among sections of the Lingayat community was a major factor as several religious and community leaders openly asked their followers not to support the BJP. The Congress has tried to widen the rift by repeatedly alleging that the BJP has “insulted and insulted” the Lingayat community.
According to party sourcesThe Congress’s calculation was that the removal of Lingayats, who constitute an estimated 17 per cent of the state’s population, would be resented. Yediyurappa as CM. The story gained credence after BJP denied ticket to three prominent Lingayat leaders – former CM Jagadish Shettar, Laxman Savadi and BJP. Mahadevappa Yadav, Shettar and Savadi later joined the Congress.
Shettar lost to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai, who got 59.27 per cent votes. According to data from the Election Commission of India, the former chief minister secured just 60,775 votes against his rival, who secured 95,064 votes.
Savadi rode the Congress wave in Belagavi’s Athani with 1,31,404 votes (68.34 per cent) against BJP’s Mahesh Kumathalli, who could manage just 55,282 votes (28.75 per cent).
Congress was on target Kittur-Karnataka and the districts of central Karnataka, including Davanagere, Shivamogga and Chikkamagaluru, which have a high concentration of Lingayats. It is also hoping to make gains in the Kalyan-Karnataka region and the 18-seat border district of Belagavi.
Infighting, ‘Brahmin lobby’
Those in the know say there was anger among sections of Lingayats ahead of Yediyurappa’s removal as BJP leaders and legislators started abusing the 80-year-old soon after he took over as chief minister in 2019 .
Lingayat leaders said anonymous letters were written by people in their own party calling for Yediyurappa’s removal and some Arvind Belad and old guard members also demanded a change in leadership.
Firebrand legislator and originator of the Panchamasali movement, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal repeatedly targeted Yeddyurappa. Political analysts say that the MLA from Vijayapura city neither faced any consequences nor was pulled up by the BJP high command for speaking against its CM.
Similarly, no action was taken against BJP minister KS Eshwarappa, who in April 2021 wrote to the governor of Karnataka, accusing Yeddyurappa and his son BY Vijayendra of interfering in the functioning of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj (RDPR) department Was.
In addition, sections of Lingayats have accused Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai – also a Lingayat – of breaking his promise and including the community in Category 2A of the state’s backward classes list. Instead his government’s decision to create two new categories (2C and 2D) was seen as a political stunt rather than a serious attempt to quell growing discontent within the community or its leaders.
In April last year, prominent Lingayat religious leader Dingleswara Swamy alleged that even mutts had to pay a bribe of 30 per cent to the state government to release grants.
(Editing by Amritansh Arora)