K'taka polls: Decoding caste arithmetics after all parties release final lists

When it comes to caste arithmetic, Karnataka is no different. In this election year all parties are playing the caste card and are leaving nothing to chance as Karnataka like most states in the country votes on this equation.

If one goes by the list of candidates released by the three major parties- BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (S), it is clear that they have chosen a mix of leaders belonging to all castes. While the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, the two most dominant castes have got a lion's share, leaders from the other castes too have been accommodated in the list.

While the BJP and Congress have fielded 67 and 51 tickets each to the Lingayats, the JD(S) has fielded 54 Vokkaliga candidates. For the BJP the Lingayat dominated seats are important as in the 2018 elections, it had won 38 of the 70 seats, where the community is dominant. On the other hand the JD(S) pulled off 24 of the 40 constituencies in which the Vokkaligas are dominant in the previous elections.

Not just the Vokkaligas and Lingayats who form 14 and 17 per cent of the population, the parties have also given equal importance to the Schedule Castes, Schedule Tribes and Other Backward Classes as well. The BJP and Congress have fielded 40 OBC candidates, while the JD(S) has given tickets to 28.

When it comes to the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribes, the BJP has fielded the most candidates, while the Congress comes second.

In the case of the Muslims and Christians, the BJP does not have a single candidate. In fact it is the JD(S) which has fielded the most number of Muslim candidate. The number stands at 23 Muslims. Among the Brahmins, it is the BJP that tops the list. All three parties have also given tickets to Kurubas, a dominant community from which former chief minister and Congress leader Siddaramaiah hails.

However all three parties have shied away from fielding a large number of women candidates. Although the population of the woman electorate is equal to that of the men, the BJP has fielded just 11, while in the case of the Congress it is 12. The JD(S) however leads this pack with it fielding 13 women candidates.

OneIndia spoke with several experts to understand the choice of candidates that have bee fielded. They said that this is probably one of the toughest elections that the state has seen. The focus is on the winnability factor and that is what all parties have concentrated on. "No doubt caste is a factor in Karnataka. However this time all parties have taken that calculated risk to ensure that the candidate has that winnability factor," the expert said.