Last Updated: May 06, 2023, 13:26 IST
A challenge BJP faces in its stronghold of Kittur-Karnataka region is the rebellion of two senior Lingayat leaders — Jagadish Shettar (left) and Laxman Savadi. (News18)
Even though the BJP refuses to openly accept the damage caused by the departure of the senior Lingayat leaders, their exit has become a matter of concern for the saffron camp
Results of previous assembly elections in Mumbai-Karnataka — a Lingayat-dominated region comprising seven districts — stands as a testament to the community’s support enjoyed by the BJP. The saffron camp won 30 of 50 seats in the region, thereby asserting dominance that took their total tally to 104.
But this time around, the party has certain hurdles to overcome to retain this voter base in the upcoming assembly polls which are crucial, taking into consideration the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
The Panchamasali hiccup
The Panchamasali, a strong sub-sect of the Lingayat community which has been demanding 2A reservation for their community, added velocity to their agitation in the past five months to pressure the government to act swiftly and fulfil their demands with elections around the corner.
The community pontiff, who led the agitation, even threatened the Basavaraj Bommai government of political repercussions if the government failed to bring them under the 2A quota.
Scared of losing the vote bank and to ensure they do not end up breaching the 50 per cent reservation cap, the Bommai government took a lateral route of scrapping the 4 per cent reservation given to Muslims under 2B and provided 2 per cent of it to Panchamasali and 2 per cent to Vokkaliga community who had the same demand.
While the community heads are said to be a tad bit satisfied with the increase, few of the other community leaders who led the movement are upset with 2 per cent negotiation and are planning to take the legal route post assembly elections.
What bore fruit for the Panchamsali from their agitation is that the BJP was forced to give tickets to leaders from the community in this election. Of the 67 tickets provided to Lingayats in the BJP, the Panchamasali are more in number, but the quota unrest within the community is yet to be quelled.
The S-factor: Shettar-Savadi
Another challenge BJP faces in its stronghold of Kittur-Karnataka region is the rebellion of two senior Lingayat leaders — Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi.
Even though the BJP refuses to openly accept the damage caused by the departure of the senior Lingayat leaders, their exit has become a matter of concern for the saffron camp.
Shettar, who belongs to Banajigas — the business class of Lingayats — can assert his influence and sway the Lingayat votes towards the Congress but his chances of winning remain debatable as people and local leaders are said to remain loyal to a party rather than an individual. Few members of the Marwadi community, who form a formidable chunk of the population in the Hubbli-Dharwad constituency, feel the leader has betrayed the party.
Political analysts opine that Savadi heading out of BJP is a bigger loss for the party than Shettar for two reasons: One is the sub-community Ganiga to which Savadi belongs and second, the influence of Savadi on Marathi voters residing in the bordering region of Karnataka.
“Groundnut is the primary cash crop that is grown on black soil which is present in Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bagalkot, Bijapur and Bidar and wherever there is groundnut farming, there are Ganigas who take out groundnut oil. So in all 10-12 constituencies from Belagavi to Gulbarga, Savadi, a leader from Ganiga community, can hold sway over votes. That is why his induction into Congress will likely benefit not only leaders in Belgaum but also leaders in Bijapur, Gulbarga, Bagalkot and to an extent Bidar,” says Rishikesh Bahaddur, a political analyst.
But will the campaign by Ganiga leader Savadi outweigh the campaign by other Lingayat leaders like Yediyurappa, Yatnal, or Ramesh Katti and will this counter the heartburn caused by Savadi will decide the fate of the two parties in the Kittur-Karnataka region.
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