To woo Vokkaligas, Karnataka govt to celebrate Kempegowda Jayanti

The Chief minister of Karnataka on Tuesday announced that Kempegowda Jayanti would be celebrated by the government. Siddaramaiah in a tweet said that the state government would celebrate the founder of Bengaluru city by celebrating his birth anniversary on April 17. After Tipu Jayanti, Kempegowda Jayanti will now be a state government affair.

ನಾಡಪ್ರಭು ಕೆಂಪೇಗೌಡ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆಯನ್ನು ಏ.17ರಂದು ರಾಜ್ಯ ಸರ್ಕಾರದ ವತಿಯಿಂದ ಆಚರಿಸಲಾಗುವುದು. ಜಿಲ್ಲಾ ಮಟ್ಟದಲ್ಲೂ ದಿನಾಚರಣೆ ಆಯೋಜಿಸಲು ಕ್ರಮ ಕೈಗೊಳ್ಳಲಾಗುವುದು.

— CM of Karnataka (@CMofKarnataka) April 11, 2017

While Siddaramaiah claimed that celebrations will take place in every district, the timing of this announcement has drawn attention. The decision by the state government to celebrate Kempegowda Jayanti comes at a time when the Congress is compelled to woo Vokkaliga community ahead of the assembly polls in Karnataka.

With leaders like S M Krishna jumping to the BJP ahead of the polls, the Congress has very few choices of Vokkaliga leaders to project. Before time runs out the party is going all out to consolidate its Vokkaliga vote share. The Congress in Karnataka today has the need to defend its turf in the Cauvery belt where Vokkaligas make a considerable vote bank.

The move to celebrate Kempegowda, a Vokkaliga icon, is being viewed as a measure to appease the community. The Chief Minister said that the decision to celebrate Kempegowda Jayanti was taken after a discussion with Nirmalananda Swamiji of the pro-Vokkaliga Adichunchanagiri math. The Congress has always associated itself with the AHINDA communities, the same has been time and again highlighted by Siddaramaiah. With the elections a year away, the Congress is trying to prove that it caters to other communities other than those in AHINDA.

OneIndia News