BENGALURU: Leaders of the Panchamsali Lingayat community are sabre rattling again and on Monday met Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, expressing their strong displeasure over not granting the 2A reservation status to the community. They reminded Bommai that all the deadlines set by the state government to provide them with the reservation status as the most backward class have expired. They said they would hold a protest in front of his residence at his constituency Shiggaon to express their displeasure. Bommai responded to them, saying he would look into their demand along with the requests of Halumatha-Kuruba, Valmiki and other communities to include them in various reservation categories. But the Panchamsali leaders were in no mood to listen to any promises.
The leaders, Jaya Mrutyunjaya Swami, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal and Vinay Kulkarni, have spoken in strong terms and warned that the community will be displeased if the authorities fail to act on their promises. They have been complaining that the government has done little to address their concerns.
Psephologists said the community has a presence in around 150 constituencies in the state and form the mainstay in at least 50 constituencies in four districts where they are present in significant numbers. By their sheer numbers, they can damage the poll prospects of any party.
The Panchamsalis are a power to reckon with, Jaya Mruthyunjaya Swamiji warned, and said they have the support of Gowda Lingayats, Malai Gowdas, Deksha Lingayats and other smaller communities who all come under the larger Panchamsali umbrella.
What is interesting is that almost 80 per cent of the community supported the BJP in 2008 and 2018. On both occasions, BJP was able to come to power largely because of their backing. Now, the promise of 2A status to the community has become the Achilles heel for the BJP, while the opposition Congress could exploit this opportunity to its advantage in the polls.