The Congress in Karnataka views the coming Assembly polls as the best ever opportunity to win back the Lingayat community, an erstwhile constituency of the party, which would also then boost its chances of winning a crucial state election that will set the tone for a hectic election season culminating in the Lok Sabha polls in 2024.
The party believes that in this election, the BJP is at a disadvantage with regard to the support of the Lingayats, who have played an important role in bringing the saffron party to power in the southern state.
A primary reason for that, according to state Congress leaders, is the sidelining of Lingayat stalwart B.S. Yediyurappa and the manner in which he was removed from the chief minister's post. The leader said that it was fearing a backlash from the community that Yediyurappa was replaced by Basavaraj Bommai, another Lingayat leader but someone who does not have the same stature or mass appeal.
According to Congress leaders, there is a feeling in the Lingayat community that this time when the BJP wins, they will not make a Lingayat the chief minister. They insist that it is well known that the original plan of the BJP was to replace Yediyurappa with Pralhad Joshi or B.L. Santosh, who do not belong to the Lingayat community.
The Lingayats account for 17 per cent of the state's population, and the community had originally supported the Congress. It is believed that the manner in which Veerendra Patil, who was a Lingayat, was removed as chief minister in 1990, had infuriated the community and made it shift loyalties to the BJP. Then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had announced at the Bengaluru airport the decision to replace Patil, who had suffered a paralytic stroke.
This incident was referred to by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a recent public meeting in Davangere. The Congress has responded to this by asking why Yediyurappa was removed as chief minister because he was not even suffering from any ailment.
The Congress's outreach to the Lingayats includes projection of former Karnataka home minister M.B. Patil, a prominent leader belonging to the Lingayat community, as one of the prominent faces spearheading the party's campaign. Patil heads the Congress' campaign committee, which is believed to make him a probable for the chief minister's post.
Also, the party is giving more tickets to Lingayat leaders in this election compared to the 2018 Assembly polls. The party had fielded 43 Lingayat candidates in the elections in 2018, and the number could cross 50 this time.
The Congress feels that the Bommai government's pre-election move to enhance reservation for the Lingayat community will not benefit the BJP much. Party leaders point to the continuing demands from the community for greater representation and claim that while 50 per cent of the Lingayat community is unimpressed with the announcement, the remaining 50 per cent is unsure of its benefits. This, they say, will only harm the BJP and benefit the Congress.