If Prime Minister Modi started his Karnataka campaign with a rally in Bengaluru, Rahul Gandhi is all set to start his election campaign in one of the most backward regions of Karnataka – the Hyderabad-Karnataka region – on 10 February.
During his four-day tour, Gandhi will visit religious places like Huligemma Temple, Gavi Siddeshwara Mutt, Anubhava Mantapa, and Khwaja Bande Nawaz Dargah. The rally will also include interactions with beneficiaries of special schemes announced by state government, farmers, and business community in the region.
Although Congress holds majority seats in the region, the AICC chief will attempt to woo the Lingayat votes in the region to strengthen the vote bank, due to the low margins of victory in 2013 elections.
Hyderabad-Karnataka region consists of six districts in north-east Karnataka – Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur, Koppal, Bellary and Gulbarga. It was the Kannada-speaking part of the erstwhile Hyderabad State of Nizam, which was merged with Karnataka following the state formation. The region has a large Lingayat and SC/ST population.
Why Campaign in a Stronghold?
In 2013 assembly elections, the Congress won 24 out of the 40 seats in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. This was a comeback for the party, which had only won 14 seats in the 2008 assembly elections.
Although the Congress holds more than 50 percent seats in the region, the vote shares of the parties tell a different story.
In 2013, the BJP was split into three parties. The combined vote share of the three factions – the BJP, the KJP and the BSR Congress – was more than the united BJP's combined vote share in 2008. Even though BJP lost the elections because of the split, they made an increase in their vote share in the region.
Even the margin of victory for the Congress leaders, including some senior ministers, was small during the 2013 elections. The Congress is now attempting to consolidate the vote bank in the region, by appealing to the Lingayats and the SC/ST communities in the region.
Temple Visits to Woo Lingayats
The BJP has been terming Rahul Gandhi’s temple visits as ‘soft Hindutva’ since his Gujarat campaign days. His proposed temple visits during the Karnataka trip as well have been criticised by the BJP as an appeasement of Hindus.
However, out of the four religious places in Rahul Gandhi’s agenda, two are Lingayat spiritual centers. The other two are a Muslim Daraga and a temple of the SC/ST community.
Rahul Gandhi’s visit to the Gavi Siddeshwara Mutt, Anubhava Mantapa (a religious parliament started by 12th century reformer Basavanna) is perceived as a strategy to appeal to the Lingayat voters in the regions, who have traditionally voted for the BJP.
In the months ahead of the elections, the Congress government in the state had announced that they would support the demand for the religious status for the Lingayat community, if there was consensus among the community members.
371 (J) will be Gandhi’s Trump Card
Hyderabad-Karnataka is one of the underdeveloped regions of the Karnataka. Ahead of the assembly polls in 2013, the Manmohan Singh government had amended Article 371 of the Indian Constitution to grant special status to six districts in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region. The amendment promised more jobs and development in the region.
Under Article 371(J), 70 percent of seats in Medical, Dental, Engineering etc, colleges, that are part of Hyderabad-Karnataka region, are reserved for local students. 75-85 percent of the jobs in region are reserved for local candidates. A separate board, along with Rs 2,500 crore have provided for the development of the Hyderabad-Karnataka region.
The Congress leadership in the state is expecting to win over the Hyderabad-Karnataka, showcasing the good work done under 371(J). Even Rahul Gandhi is expected to harp on the ‘success’ of Article 371 (J) during his rallies. Rahul Gandhi’s campaign being flagged off by the ‘beneficiaries of 371 (J) is a clear indication of the same.
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