Bengaluru: Voting for Karnataka election assembly will be held on May 10 and the results will be out on May 13, and till then the electioneering in the state will be in full swing. Meanwhile, while the BJP is busy holding meetings for the selection of candidates, the Congress has outdone its main rival.
Karnataka has more than 17 percent Lingayat population
Congress has so far announced the names of 166 candidates out of 224 seats. In fact, the Lingayat community with more than 17 per cent of the population in Karnataka is considered to be the biggest vote bank in the state. In Karnataka, mostly the same party forms the government which gets the support of Lingayat. Therefore both BJP and Congress have been giving prominence to this class.
Congress has given 43 tickets to Lingayat community
Due to the large number of Lingayat community in the state, the Congress has given tickets to leaders belonging to this community in 43 out of 166 seats. Actually, both Congress and BJP are making every possible effort to get an edge over each other. Karnataka has a sizeable number of Lingayat voters. Not only this, this class is active in the politics of Karnataka and also has a good hold.
Lingayats demand 55 tickets from Congress
Therefore, this time the Congress has intensified all efforts to woo the Lingayats. However, the difficulty for the Congress is that the Lingayats demanded 55 tickets from the Congress.
Candidates are yet to be announced on 58 seats
Congress has so far released two lists of candidates for the elections. The names of 124 candidates were announced in the first list. The second list of 42 candidates was released on 6 April after the first list was released on 25 March. In this way, in the list of 166 names released now, about 43 candidates belong to the Lingayat community.
In fact, in the 2018 assembly elections also, the Congress had given only 43 tickets to Lingayats, but this time the leaders of this community are seeking tickets for 55 seats.
BJP not projecting Lingayat leader Yediyurappa as its CM candidate
On the other hand, Lingayat leader BS Yediyurappa is not being projected as the CM candidate this time by the BJP. In such a situation, the leaders of the Lingayat group associated with the Congress believe that this is a good opportunity to get the support of the largest community.
Big opportunity in front of Congress this time
If the state Congress working president and Lingayat leader Eshwara Khandre is to be believed, the Lingayat community will support the Congress this time. In such a situation, the chances of the party will receive a boost if more ticketsare given to the people of the community.
Khandare says Lingayat leaders had raised the demand for more tickets for members of the community a month ago. However, the names of the candidates are yet to be announced for about 58 seats.
Cong will give more tickets to Lingayats than in 2018
In such a situation, Congress leaders are hopeful that this time leaders belonging to the Lingayat community are expected to be given more tickets. There are also clear indications that the party will give more tickets to Lingayats than in 2018.
The BJP, considered the favorite party of the Lingayat community since the 1990s, is yet to release its first list of candidates. The BJP had given 55 tickets to Lingayats in the last elections.
The BJP, led by Yediyurappa, emerged as the single largest party in the 2018 elections, winning 104 seats. At that time, 40 Lingayat candidates from the BJP had managed to win the election, while only 17 out of 43 Lingayat candidates from the Congress had won.
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