HYDERABAD: The Congress may have found it a cakewalk to consolidate communities in Congress in its favour, but the same exercise in Telangana might prove to be a different ball game altogether as its socio-political milieu is as different as chalk is from cheese.
Says a senior Congress leader who has campaigned in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly elections: “In Karnataka, the Assembly segments are populated heavily with one caste or the other. But in Telangana, that kind of heavy concentration is lacking. In such a situation, it is not as easy as it was in Karnataka to get the voters’ trust,” he explained.
In Karnataka, after the BJP sidelined former chief minister Yediyurappa, the Lingayats - the traditional voters of the BJP - have turned towards the Congress. Lingayat community accounts for 17 per cent of the total vote share and is a deciding factor in 80 Assembly segments. The Congress has won a majority of these seats. The grand old party also managed to consolidate other OBC communities like Vokkaligas, and SCs like Madigas.
The religious minorities, particularly Muslims, voted against BJP and in favour of the Congress as the election turned out to be between two parties. In the context of Telangana, the Muslim vote will be divided mainly between ruling BRS, Congress, and AIMIM thus depriving any chance of the Congress cornering a lion’s share of the minority votes.
The Congress and its strategy arm - Sunil Kanugolu team - are diligently working to address this issue. The principal Opposition party is now working on what they would do for SC, ST, BC and other socially backward communities, in the form of declarations to be implemented, if they come to power.
A top source from Sunil Kanugolu's team said that they are speaking to various caste-based organisations to understand their problems. The popular and justified demands by the caste-based organisations will be put forth in the party’s manifesto.