LS Polls: In North K’taka, BJP Hopes to Retain Lingayat Bastion

Out of the 14 seats in the region, the BJP holds 10 and four constituencies are with the Congress.

Governing parties in Karnataka have changed like clockwork every election, and so, the trend continues. 

(GIF: Rahul Gupta)

The flamboyant phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka, with its film stars and big fights, is over. Now, the focus turns to north Karnataka, where caste and party affiliations decide the electoral outcome. The north is a stronghold of the prominent Lingayat community – and of the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).

Unlike in south Karnataka, where the vote transfer between alliance partners Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) is said to be a game changer, in the north, the election is a battle between the Congress and the BJP, as the JD(S) has limited presence in this region.

Out of the 14 seats in north Karnataka, the BJP holds 10 and four constituencies are with the Congress. In order to bring down the BJP’s lead of winning 17 out of the 28 seats in the state, it is crucial for the Congress to win more seats in the northern part of the state.

The Lingayat Factor

File photo of a Lingayat convention. 

If the first phase of the election in Karnataka was dominated by the Vokkaliga community, in the second phase, the Lingayat community plays a crucial role. Accounting for about 17 percent of the state’s population, Lingayats are concentrated in the northern part of the state.

Historically, this community has voted en bloc for the BJP and the party’s state president BS Yeddyurappa is considered a leader of the Lingayat community.

Anger against former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah, who proposed to separate Lingayats from Hindu religion is said to be one of the reasons for the Congress’ defeat in the 2018 Assembly elections. The anti-Siddaramaiah sentiment still remains, claims the BJP, while the Congress leaders in the region say they were against the proposal, to win the community’s trust.

Tough Battle for Kharge

Mallikarjun Kharge.

Among the four seats held by the Congress in north Karnataka is Gulbarga, which is held by the senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, since 2009. Kharge, who was the face of the Congress in the Lok Sabha is preparing for one of his toughest elections so far in the general elections.

For the senior leader, who is facing anti-incumbency, there are several factors affecting his chances. His son Priyank Kharge getting a ministerial berth in the state government, while several other leaders from the region were denied that post, is one of the big factors that has irked many voters in the constituency.

Kharge’s opponent from the BJP too, is one such disgruntled politician. Umesh Jadhav, who was a Congress MLA from this region had recently resigned from the party and joined the BJP, after he was denied a ministerial berth.

The anti-incumbency against Kharge is expected to work in favour of Jadhav and the Congress will have to put up a strong fight to retain one of the four seats in the region.

Yeddyurappa Battles for Son’s Future

The BJP’s BS Yeddyurappa has to prove he has the majority during the floor test in the Karnataka Assembly on Saturday, 19 May.

In 2014, BJP State President BS Yeddyurappa had won the Shimoga parliament seat with a margin of 3.63 lakh votes and the seat was considered a stronghold of the BJP. However, when the seat went for by-election in 2018, after Yeddyurappa vacated the seat to contest the Assembly election, his son Raghavendra contested from the seat.

In the by-election, the margin of the party’s victory dropped from 3.63 lakh to 52,148 votes. Raghavendra’s opponent in the elections was former Karnataka chief minister Bangarappa’s son, Madhu Bangarappa. Once again, these two were go head to head.

Even though the state president of the BJP, Yeddyurappa, has restricted himself to Shimoga, it was an indication that the father-son duo is putting their best foot forward to consolidate strength in their bastion.

Most of the BJP candidates in north Karnataka have been using PM Modi as the face of their campaigns. The leaders believe the ‘Modi wave’ would play a crucial part in their victory.

Analysts have been predicting a status-quo in north Karnataka with both parties retaining the same number of seats. But for the BJP, it is important to win extra seats in north Karnataka to make up for the loss in the south due to the JD(S)-Congress alliance and the Congress, which wants to cross the BJP in number of seats.