BENGALURU: Is the BJP failing in its narrative of keeping the Lingayat support intact like it did in 2018? The Lingayat community votes were overwhelmingly cornered by the BJP in that election as the party harped on Congress’ “breaking religion (dharma odeyuva)” narrative. But this time, the party looks more vulnerable and may not get the consolidated support of the community, now that former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi have exited the party.
Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha Secretary Renuka Prasanna told TNIE, “The community support for BJP that eroded after BS Yediyurappa stepped down in ‘pain’ will reduce further after Shettar exited, again in pain.’’
BJP MLC AH Vishwanath alleged, “There is a hidden agenda in RSS to finish off the leadership among Lingayats and Vokkaligas.’’ After Shettar revealed that BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh was behind the denial of ticket to him, a senior BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said, “What Santhosh did was wrong. Mahesh Tenginkai (who has been given the BJP ticket from the Hubballi-Dharwad Central that was represented by Shettar) is a follower of Santhosh.
Tenginkai himself was not keen on the ticket. It is obvious that Santhosh wanted to dispose of Shettar. In all this, Shettar’s penance of 40 years in politics, considering that he comes from a family of pucca Jan Sangh-RSS, is lost. Shettar’s father was a mayor and his uncle too was in politics. The chief gainer seems to be Santosh, while both Yediyurappa and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are at his mercy. They were not allowed to expand the cabinet and they also suffered other restrictions placed by Santhosh. They are helpless in this situation.”
In the 2018 polls, Congress won 38% votes, 1.5% more than BJP. In as many as 28 seats, the party won with margins of less than 10,000 votes. Even if there is a small erosion of Lingayat votes, it could be difficult for BJP to win these seats, experts said. Lingayats, with around 17-20% vote share, are a force in nearly 150 constituencies.
Political analyst B S Murthy said, “The way they dealt with Shettar is nothing but manipulation. There will be a backlash.”