BENGALURU: Caste and community are determining who gets tickets to contest the upcoming BBMP elections.
The Congress and the BJP have given a large number of tickets to the Vokkaligas, OBCs and SC/STs.
The two national parties have fielded candidates in all 198 wards, while the JD(S) is contesting 195 seats. Vokkaliga, Reddy, OBC and Muslim voters are spread across the city and their numbers are significant. Keeping them in mind, parties have fielded the maximum number of candidates from those communities.
While the Congress has fielded 49 Vokkaligas, the corresponding number in the BJP is 45. Some Vokkaliga leaders who can influence Bengaluru voters are D K Shivakumar
and Krishna Byre Gowda from the Congress, and R Ashok and D V Sadananda Gowda from the BJP.
For the Reddys, the Congress has given 15 seats, and the BJP 14. District in-charge Minister Ramalinga Reddy represents this community.
Interestingly, the Lingayats aren’t getting much prominence, with both the BJP and the Congress fielding just three each. This has irked Lingayat leaders and pontiffs. While the Congress has fielded three Christians, the BJP gives them no representation. As for Muslims, 23 are in the fray from the Congress and five from BJP.
The JD(S) is banking on Muslim votes in a big way. “We have fielded 27 from the Muslim and Christian communities,” Ratan Singh, president of the JD(S)’ city unit, said.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is often identified as a leader of the Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and dalits).
In the new reservation matrix, 65 wards are reserved for the OBCs. The Congress has given tickets to 68 OBC candidates, including 23 from the Kuruba community that Siddaramaiah is from.
The BJP comes a close second, giving them 19 seats. Ramalinga Reddy admitted to Express that caste plays an important role in elections. “The Congress keeps in mind social justice,” he said.
Villages around KR Puram, Bommanahalli and BTM Layout have a preponderance of Reddys. “We have to give them representation. Other parties will also field Reddys. When I contested the assembly elections in 2013, the BJP, JD(S) and even the AAP had fielded Reddys. But I won,” Ramalinga Reddy said.
At the same time, the city has significant numbers of Vokkaligas and Kurubas, and the Congress has kept them in mind as well, he said. He said the city did not have too many Lingayats and Brahmins, and hence their candidate numbers were low.
Political Analysis
Prof Muzarfar Assadi, political analyst, says what role caste plays depends on the voters’ level of maturity.
Bengaluru has pockets of particular castes.
“For instance, along the Outer Ring Road, we find Vokkaligas and Reddys, while in Shivajinagar, Muslims dominate,” he said.
In such cases, votes are often cast on the basis of community, he explained.
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