BENGALURU: The agitation for separate religion status to the Lingayat community is causing ripples in state politics. Congress’s efforts to make a dent in BJP’s strong Lingayat vote bank has triggered a mini battle between BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa and Water Resources Minister M B Patil, who is spearheading the agitation for a separate Lingayat dharma.
The ongoing war of words between the two leaders has taken an interesting turn with Patil threatening to file a defamation suit against Yeddyurappa. Taking serious exception to Yeddyurappa’s allegation that he is working as a “commission agent” for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Patil wants Yeddyurappa to prove his charge or face legal action.
Patil’s aggressive leadership of the Lingayat agitation has drawn the ire of many leaders within Congress including Shamanur Shivashankarappa. The agitation has put BJP on the backfoot and the party has preferred to tread cautiously as its leadership is worried at the implications of any hasty moves.
With M B Patil making his political ambitions clear by claiming that he too is a contender for Chief Minister’s post in the near future, his agitation for Lingayat dharma is being seen as a crude political game to fulfill his political ambition. As Patil threatens to split the Veerashaiva-Lingayat vote bank, BJP’s Chief Ministerial candidate Yeddyurappa is going all guns blazing against him. The ongoing Parivartan Yatra, which is passing through Patil’s political turf Vijayapura, is drawing huge crowds and the BJP leadership is working on a plan to humble Patil in his own turf.
Yeddyurappa has put Patil’s performance as a minister under public scrutiny by accusing him of indulging in huge irregularities in irrigation projects and failure on speedy implementation of various irrigation projects. While Yeddyurappa has threatened to expose “more muck” in Patil’s deeds, the latter is preparing to up the ante to chip away at the Lingayat vote bank and hit back at Yeddyurappa.
“Yeddyurappa has intensified his attack against me since the by-election in Gundlupet and Nanjangud, where BJP lost miserably. Perhaps he is worried about my success and is showing desperation as he is losing his ground,” Patil told Express. “I am consulting my legal advisers to take legal action against Yeddyurappa. I too have enough ammunition to hit back. Yeddyurappa will get the shock in February as we are collecting documents to expose his true colours,” Patil said, refusing to divulge details.