Karnataka Con(g)quest: Livid Lingayats, Vokkaliga Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah’s AHINDA Set Up Win | Analysis

Congress returned to power in Karnataka Suggests the reorganization of castes in the state. The Congress won Kittur, Kalyana Karnataka, Central Karnataka and some districts in the southern part of the old Mysuru region. The BJP could win only two districts of Udupi and Dakshina Kannada and won a few seats here and there across the state. Janata Dal (Secular) Completely demolished, land handed over to Congress in old Mysuru area.

A closer look at the results highlights some interesting facts. The Kittur Karnataka and Kalyan Karnataka regions are Lingayat strongholds, with many OBCs, mainly Kurubas and SC/STs. There is also a sizeable Muslim population here. In these two regions, the BJP has won Belagavi/Belgaum, Vijayapura/Bijapur, Bagalkot, Haveri, undivided Bellary, Raichur and Gulbarga.

BJP’s “betrayal” of Lingayats echoed in these regions and a rich electoral harvest for the Congress suggests a shift in the community’s votes. The Kurubas voted for the Congress as a block because of their leader, Siddaramaiah.

It seems that even the Muslims have voted for the Congress as a bloc to stop the BJP. The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have also largely voted for the Congress. AICC President M Mallikarjun Kharge played the “Bhumiputra” card and it has paid off. MB Patil, a top Lingayat leader of the Congress, has also played a big role in garnering the support of his community. He was instrumental in bringing former CM Jagadish Shettar into the party, which badly affected the BJP.

BJP stalwarts like Govind Karjol, Murugesh Nirani and B. Sriramulu have faced defeat due to shifting castes. Lingayat reservation and internal quota in reservation also seems to be going against BJP.

The Congress has also won the central Karnataka districts of Davangere and Chitradurga, again a Lingayat, Kuruba and SC/ST bastion.

The Congress has also won in Tumkur, a Lingayat, Vokkaliga and Scheduled Caste bastion. The same pattern of voting can be seen here as well.

Surprisingly, the Congress has swept away Chikmagalur district, which has been a BJP stronghold in recent years. The victory can be attributed to a decisive shift in Vokkaliga votes, which have supported their caste leader DK Shivakumar. The same thing happened in Mandya, Bengaluru Rural, Chikkaballapur and Ramanagara: again, a DKS effect.

Mysore and Chamarajanagar districts, which the Congress won outright, also have Lingayat, Vokkaliga, Kuruba and SC/ST majorities. Siddaramaiah, who is a native, and the shift in caste votes have helped the Congress win big here.

The victory appears to be a combination of Siddaramaiah’s Ahinda, DK Shivakumar’s upper caste Vokkaliga and Lingayat vote split.

If the Congress keeps at it, it could once again emerge strong across Karnataka, toppling the BJP in the coming parliamentary elections.