|
|
|
|
|
assembly elections |
|
|
|
|
assembly elections
IF caste alone could win an election for a political party, the ruling BJP in Karnataka would have been a favourite for the May 5 Assembly elections in the state, the counting for which will take place on May 8. The leadership of the state BJP has the most formidable representation of the key caste groups in the state. Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar is a Lingayat, R Ashoka, one of the two Deputy Chief Ministers, is a Vokkaliga while KS Eshwarappa, the other Deputy Chief Minister, hails from the Kuruba community. Prahlad Joshi, the newly elected Karnataka unit president of the party, is a Brahmin. Moreover, the BJP government has always been generous with caste-based religious organisations. BS Yeddyurappa, the first Chief Minister of the BJP government in Karnataka, started the practice of handing out grants from the exchequer to caste-based religious outfits. His successors did not waver from what was introduced by their canny predecessor. In the budget presented by Shettar (who also holds the finance portfolio) in February this year, Rs 100 crore was provided for buildings, development works, rejuvenation works and other activities of religious institutions of different communities. Besides, Rs 25 crore was allocated exclusively to mutts run by Lingayats, who are reputed to be backers of the party. Eventful tenure The five-year rule of the BJP has turned out to be a big mess. Even the most clever caste politics cannot salvage the BJP from what it has brought upon itself. Its tenure has been marked by sleaze, corruption, rebellions by MLAs, and above all, incompetence. Its tenure has seen no less than three Chief Ministers. Yeddyurappa resigned after the Lokayukta published evidence of crores of rupees donated by a steel manufacturing firm to a trust run by his family. Yeddyurappa installed Sadananda Gowda as his successor. When Gowda tried to assert his authority, Yeddyurappa had him replaced by Jagadish Shettar. There was huge uproar when three BJP ministers were caught on camera watching a porn clip on a mobile phone during a sitting of the Assembly. BJP minister H Halappa was accused of rape by his friend’s wife. The latest sleaze incident involves Raghupati Bhat, BJP MLA from Udupi, who has allegedly been filmed with a call girl. Bhat, whose wife had committed suicide earlier, has announced he would not be contesting the elections. In June 2009, a year after the BJP came to power in the state, some disgruntled ministers and MLAs rebelled against the then Chief Minister Yeddyurappa. More such rebellions followed. On one occasion, Governor HR Bhardwaj ordered President’s rule, which was turned down by the Centre. Yeddyurappa engineered a rebellion when he was no more in the saddle and forced the BJP high command to remove Gowda and bring in Shettar as the Chief Minister. After his removal from the Chief Minister’s post, Yeddyurappa was imprisoned for sometime in connection with a land de-notification case. His Cabinet colleague Katta S Naidu also spent considerable time in prison for his alleged involvement in a land scam. “The BJP government has become a laughing stock. Nobody takes them seriously,” says a Bangalore-based journalist. The Congress, though it also does not have anything positive, is slated to be the principal beneficiary of the popular disgust against the BJP. The JD(S), led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, does not have the reach that the Congress enjoys. Moreover, people still do not trust the father-son duo of Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy. Defections, many Apart from its terrible performance, the BJP is also facing the problem of desertion, the most important being the parting of ways by Yeddyurappa. Regarded as the face of the BJP in Karnataka and architect of the first BJP government in the state, the Lingayat strongman left the BJP after being forced to step down from the Chief Minister’s post. Fourteen BJP legislators, including some ministers, have joined the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) launched by Yeddyurappa. Three more ministers and some BJP MLAs are expected to follow suit. The turncoats have sensed that the BJP is going downhill. Their plan is to win the elections under the KJP banner and then become ministers in a Congress-led coalition government. Not just this. At least two BJP government functionaries are also planning to join the Congress. One of them, Forest Minister CP Yogeshwar, had won on Congress ticket, but resigned and was re-elected as a BJP candidate. Six other BJP MLAs are said to be waiting for Congress nod. BJP legislator Shankarlinge Gowda has already announced joining hands with the JD(S). Janardhana Reddy, the Bellary-based mining magnate who played a key role in the emergence of the BJP as a strong force in Bellary and its neighbourhood, and his trusted friend B Sriramulu (who was Health Minister in Yeddyurappa’s government) have also moved away from the party. Reddy, who was Tourism Minister in the Yeddyurappa-led government, was arrested by the CBI in September 2011 and is in prison. He is upset that nobody from the BJP has come to his rescue. Though campaigning is yet to commence in the state, the scenario is unlikely to undergo any major transformation. In the civic elections held earlier this month, the Congress won a significant majority (1,947 wards) while the BJP and JD(S) bagged equal number of wards (906 each). Caste factor Many of the Assembly constituencies shall include rural segments where caste affiliations traditionally remain a stronger force than urban areas and the parties will carefully choose their candidates so they do not lose out on this factor. The caste factor will heavily determine the choice of candidates in urban areas as well. Lingayats and the Vokkaligas are said to be the two numerically strongest castes in Karnataka, followed by the backward Kurubas, the Brahmins and others. It is, however, a fact that there is no dependable data on the numerical strength and distribution of castes in Karnataka. The last caste-based door-to-door census was conducted by the British in 1931 and a proposal to conduct another such exercise has been hanging fire. The Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah has promised to carry out a caste census in Karnataka if the Congress comes to power in the state. In 1975, LG Havanur, chairman of the first Karnataka Backward Classes Commission, used a sample survey of villages and pre-Independence caste census data to calculate the Lingayat and Vokkaliga population at 14.64 per cent and 11.82 per cent, respectively, of the total state population. The commission put the figures of Lingayats at 15.42 per cent and Vokkaligas at 10.64 per cent, respectively, in 2001. These figures were arrived at on the basis of the report of the Second Backward Classes Commission in 1986. If one goes by these figures, the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities appear much smaller than what they are perceived. However, there is little scope for doubting the political clout wielded by the two communities. The elections of 2008 saw 59 MLAs from the Lingayat community and 52 Vokkaligas make it to the 224-member Assembly. Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes should have had a major say in politics as they together constitute 39 per cent of the population. But they lack the clout. Out of the 21 Chief Ministers in Karnataka since Independence, eight have been Lingayat and six Vokkaliga. Vokkaligas, said to be strong in southern Karnataka, are considered to be backers of the JD(S). Lingayat-dominated constituencies are found mainly in central and northern Karnataka. Lingayats backed the BJP when it was led by Yeddyurappa. Though Yeddyurappa is not with the BJP anymore, the party has announced that Shettar will remain Chief Minister if the BJP returns to power. Nevertheless, Yeddyurappa’s exit from the BJP has created ripples among the Lingayat community. Many Lingayat BJP ministers have joined Yeddyurappa’s KJP. As for Lingayats, they started abandoning the Congress in the 1990s after Rajiv Gandhi abruptly replaced Karnataka’s ailing Chief Minister Veerendra Patil, a Lingayat, with S Bangarappa. Rajiv made the announcement at the Bangalore airport, leaving the community furious. Mending fences The Congress made several attempts to win them back, but was unsuccessful. The Lingayats supported Patil’s friend Ramakrishna Hegde, despite him being a Brahmin, as he was always identified with their community. When the Janata Party disintegrated, the Lingayats shifted their loyalties to Yeddyurappa, founder-member and then state president of the BJP. The steady support of the community pushed the BJP to power in 2008, with Yeddyurappa becoming the Chief Minister. Sensing a subtle change in the thinking of the community following Yeddyurappa’s ouster, Congress president Sonia Gandhi attempted to woo them. Last year, she visited the influential Lingayat pontiff Shivakumara Swami of Siddaganga mutt in Tumkur to participate in his 105th birth anniversary celebrations. Yeddyurappa’s party is making no bones about its future plan of supporting the Congress in case it needs it for forming the government. It appears that either way, the Congress will benefit from Lingayat votes. Sriramulu, the Bellary strongman, is reportedly holding talks with the JD(S). Sriramulu’s party BSR Congress was decimated by the Congress in his backyard Bellary in the last civic
elections. Issues at play BJP: Will highlight the
Congress’ inability to project a candidate for the Chief Minister’s post; alleged scams attributed to the UPA
government, price rise, etc. JD(S): Will take on the Congress and the BJP, which will, however, not focus much on the JD(S) except for
constituencies where it has a strong candidate. Karnataka Janata Party: The main issue of the party will be “betrayal” of Yeddyurappa by the BJP. BSR Congress: The party will focus on the “betrayal” of
Sriramulu and Janardhana Reddy by the BJP. Perceived support base Congress: SCs/STs, BCs
and Muslims BJP: Lingayats (Yeddyurappa’s exit may affect votes) JD(S): Vokkaligas Keeping the faith n In the budget presented by Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar (he also holds the finance
portfolio) in February, Rs 100 crore was provided for buildings and development and rejuvenation works, besides other activities of religious institutions of
different communities. n A sum of Rs 25 crore was allocated exclusively to mutts run by Lingayats, who are
reputed to be supporters of the BJP. BJP’s bane Corruption
Sleaze
Desertions
|
|
Key Congressmen
The octogenarian is former External Affairs Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka. A Vokkaliga by caste, Krishna apparently will not be contesting the elections, but has submitted to the AICC a list of candidates that he wants to be given ticket. He is a four-time MLA. A Dalit leader, Parameshwar became the KPCC chief because of the backing he received from SM Krishna. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas and a former Karnataka Chief Minister, Veerappa Moily is considered having a close rapport with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Siddaramaiah was with the Janata Dal (Secular) earlier and was the Deputy Chief Minister twice. He hails from the backward Kuruba community and is arguably the most important leader of the community at this point. BJP heavyweights
Current Chief Minister, Shettar was with the ABVP and became an important member of the Sangh Parivar. He comes from a family of Jana Sangh activists. He was overshadowed by fellow Lingayat leader Yeddyurappa, but emerged out of his shadows after Yeddyurappa’s exit from the BJP. He was the state party president till recently when Prahlad Joshi took over. Five-time MLA, he is a Kuruba. After Shettar became the CM, Eshwarappa was elevated to the post of Deputy Chief. An LS member and former Union Minister, Ananth is instrumental in installing fellow Brahmin Prahlad Joshi as state party chief. Arch enemy of Yeddyurappa, he may upset the party’s Lingayat supporters. KJP stalwart
The Lingayat strongman loves playing the man who has been wronged. When HD Kumaraswamy backtracked on his promise and refused to hand over power to him, he played the “betrayal” issue to the hilt. Janata Dal (Secular)
The father-son duo will have to regain the confidence of people. Kumaraswamy is hardworking but since they run a ‘family’ party, Gowda, HDK, HDK’s brother Revanna (chief whip in Assembly), HDK’s wife Anita (JD-S MLA) and others are not accountable to anyone. They are
Vokkaligas.
|
|
| HOME PAGE | |
Punjab | Haryana | Jammu & Kashmir |
Himachal Pradesh | Regional Briefs |
Nation | Opinions | | Business | Sports | World | Letters | Chandigarh | Ludhiana | Delhi | | Calendar | Weather | Archive | Subscribe | Suggestion | E-mail | |
But the writing on the wall is loud and clear. The BJP, which formed the government in Karnataka in 2008 for the first time after emerging as the single largest party in the Assembly elections, is on its way out. Public disenchantment with the BJP was evident in the recent elections of the urban local bodies held across Karnataka (barring Bangalore city). 
Congress: The main plank is corruption during the BJP regime and poor governance.
SM Krishna
G. Parameshwar
Veerappa Moily
Siddaramaiah
Jagadish Shettar
KS Eshwarappa
Ananth Kumar
BS Yeddyurappa
HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy