The Caravan — February 2018

perspectives

FEBRUARY 2018 19

held follwing a spell of governor’s rule, precipi-

tated by the fall of the BJP’s coalition government,

formed with the support of the former prime

minister, HD Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular).

If this trend is any indication, then even if vot-

ers deliver a harsh verdict against the Congress

this time, one cannot take it for granted that their

alternative choice will be the BJP. The presence

of the JD(S), which has strong pockets of support

in parts of Vokkaliga-dominated southern Karna-

taka, further complicates matters for the two main

contenders.

The BJP’s state leadership, represented by its

chief-ministerial candidate BS Yeddyurappa, does

not look strong. Yeddyurappa no longer wields

the kind of clout he enjoyed within and outside

the party in 2008, when he led it to victory. Cor-

ruption charges, which he continues to fight in

the courts, and the stigma of having been the

first chief minister in the state to go to jail, have

tarnished his image among voters. He has lost
the respect of the party rank-and-file because
of his desertion of the BJP in the previous elec-
tion. Yet the BJP decided to project him as its
chief-ministerial candidate, considering him the
unchallenged leader of the powerful Lingayat
community, whose votes are crucial for it. How-
ever, in a strange twist to the tale, he is no longer
seen as the pivot around which all Lingayats will
rally. A faction of the community has launched
a movement demanding the status of a separate
minority religious group for the Lingayats. While
the Congress has pledged its moral support to
the cause, the BJP is in a bind, as it cannot back
any effort to break Hindu unity. Although it is
not yet clear how this agitation is going to affect
the election, those who support the movement
have been questioning the BJP and Yeddyurappa
over their silence on the issue. This means it is no
arijit sen / hindustan times / getty images longer a foregone conclusion that the Lingayats

above: The

Congress president,

Rahul Gandhi, had

made several highly

publicised visits to

temples in Gujarat

ahead of polls in

that state, and also

talked about his

religious affiliations.

Congress leaders

have said that

Gandhi will be

seen temple-

hopping during

the campaign in

Karnataka too.