Karnataka polls: Congress Lingayat leaders demand lion’s share in party tickets

Lingayats constitute about 17 percent of the State’s population and form the ruling BJP’s strongest vote base. They have a significant presence in about 140 Assembly segments and are decisive in about 90 seats.

Congress lost the crucial support of Lingayats in the 1990s after the unceremonious exit of then Chief Minister Veerendra Patil. But this time, the party is leaving no stone unturned to win back the confidence of the community.

In a bid to woo them, State Congress leaders have urged the party high command to accommodate more Lingayat candidates in the southern region where they hold the sway. Senior Congress leader Shamanur Sivashankarappa, who is also the president of All India Veerashaiva Mahasabha, met party's national president Mallikarjuna Kharge and requested him to give at least 65 tickets to Veerashaiva-Lingayat community in the upcoming Assembly elections.

The leaders said that in the 2018 elections, Congress gave 42 tickets to Veerashaiva-Lingayat community leaders, of which 18 candidates won. This time the number of seats should be increased, they have urged Kharge. "In Karnataka, Veerashaiva-Lingayat community support was crucial for any party to come to power. If the Congress focuses on the community, it would be easy for it to come back to power," Sivashankarappa told reporters.

Meanwhile, senior leader and former minister S.R. Patil, who also belongs to the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community, met Kharge separately. He expressed his willingness to contest in the Assembly polls if the party gives him a ticket.

Veerashaiva-Lingayats, followers of 12th-century saint Basaveshwara who had initiated a social reform movement, constitute about 17 percent of the State's population. They have a substantial population especially in the northern parts of the State and form the ruling BJP's strongest vote base in the State.

With the Lingayat strongman B.S. Yediyurappa retiring from electoral politics, the Congress is eyeing on the crucial support base, who can make or break a government in the State politics. However, Yediyurappa is still considered to be the 'tallest' leader of the community and continues to hold sway over it.

The politically influential community is considered to have a significant presence in about 140 out of the total 224 Assembly constituencies in the State while their votes are decisive in about 90 seats, according to political observers. Notably, in the 2018 elections, BJP had fielded 67 Lingayats while Congress had fielded 42.