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Nanjangud by-poll: How will BJP balance the Lingayat and Dalit votes

The Nanjangud constituency comprises both Lingayats and Dalits in large numbers. In fact, they make up for more than half the electorate.

By Vicky
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The Bharatiya Janata Party is focussing all its resources on the Nanjangud by-poll which is considered to be a stronghold of Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Srinivas Prasad, who resigned from the Congress to contest on a BJP ticket may be a trump card for the saffron party, but looking at the report from the ground, it may not be as easy as it is made out to be. The polls will be held on April 9.

Nanjangud by-poll: How will BJP balance the Lingayat and Dalit votes

Prasad is no doubt a strong candidate and he is up against Kalale Keshavamurthy of the Congress. The Nanjangud constituency comprises both Lingayats and Dalits in large numbers. In fact, they make up for more than half the electorate. Prasad is a senior Dalit leader and the BJP has a major Lingayat following. Will this combination be enough to take the BJP through? For the BJP, the worry is the recent Supreme Court on the 1993 Badanavalu Dalit case. Most of the accused persons were Lingayats and were sentenced to undergo imprisonment for life.

This could put the BJP in a spot of bother. Will the Dalits back the BJP considering that the party is considered to be pro-Lingayats? Will the Lingayats back Prasad considering he is a Dalit?

Change in plan:

The BJP is aiming to strike a balance between the Lingayats and Dalits who can sway the election in any party's favour. Prasad is suspected to be anti-Lingayat by the Dalits. To iron out the differences, the BJP's think-tank in Karnataka has decided to send in former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa, considered to be the tallest Lingayat leader in the state.

Yeddyurappa, according to the BJP is the only one who can pacify the Lingayats to vote in favour of Prasad. On the other hand, Prasad would focus only on getting in the Dalit votes.

Moreover, the BJP has also decided that it would directly target the Congress candidate from Nanjangud. The target would be Siddaramaiah and his failures, BJP leaders say. The strategy apart from targetting the CM would also involve balancing the Dalit and Lingayat votes.

For Siddaramaiah, this is a crucial election. First and foremost it is a battle of egos with Prasad who resigned from his government after being denied a cabinet berth. Second, Nanjangud is considered to be a strong Siddaramaiah belt, and losing an election there would mean loss of face.

OneIndia News

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