As Karnataka heads into the Assembly elections on May 10, the reaction in the Vokkaliga heartland to the outreach by political parties is being keenly watched amid a turmoil of sorts in the Mumbai-Karnataka region where the BJP seems to be on the edge with its traditional Lingayat vote base.
In the run-up to the elections, a large part of the political action in Karnataka was consumed by the layered narratives to woo the Vokkaligas, the dominant land owning community in the Old Mysuru region where the Janata Dal (Secular) and its traditional rival Congress rule the roost. The saffron party’s multiple attempts to make inroads into the politically aware Vokkaliga districts has so far met with limited success.
In 2018, of the 61 seats in 9 Vokkaliga dominated districts (Bengaluru city not included) of the Old Mysuru region, the JD(S) won 28 seats while BJP won 11 and Congress 20 seats. One seat each went to the BSP and an independent.
The BJP’s overt outreach to gain Vokkaliga votes through a 108 feet statue of Kempegowda, naming Shivamogga airport after Kuvempu, naming Race Course Road in Bengaluru after actor late Ambarish, setting up Kempegowda Development Authority, and the 2% reservation to Vokkaligas do not seem to have reached the ground in Ramanagara, Bengaluru Rural, Mandya and Hassan districts, the mainstay Vokkaliga districts.
The perceived setback in Urigowda-Nanjegowda narrative, depicting brave Vokkaliga warriors as having killed Tipu Sultan, has also not found much resonance. The fight over the merger of Nandini with Amul seems to have been restricted to the social media realm, as people discount them as not real issues, nor do they see them as an immediate threat.
While the saffron party seems to be making serious attempts this time, the Congress with D.K. Shivakumar at its helm is also wooing the Vokkaliga electorate. On multiple occasions, Mr Shivakumar has sought support from the community, citing an opportunity for a Vokkaliga to become the chief minister and voters — if asked — in smaller numbers are acknowledging that it could impact the voting pattern.
Also, many of the voters to whom The Hindu spoke to, said that the anti-Siddaramaiah undercurrent that set the wave for a Vokkaliga consolidation in favour of JD(S) in Hassan and Mandya in 2018, is not there in 2023. The JD(S) performance in the outlying Vokkaliga districts of Tumakuru, Chikkaballapur and Kolar had been far from satisfactory in 2018 despite the consolidation.
In the absence of any perceived Vokkaliga consolidation, the parties’ attempts to grab media attention through narratives seems to have reached only the young that use social media, but the older population have either dismissed them or did not give importance to them. Price rise, including that of LPG cylinders and cooking oil, and crisis in dairy farming, among other issues, are being spoken about along with anti-incumbency factors of sitting legislators, which are purely local in nature.
With the Congress pushing its guarantees aggressively, political observers believe that it looks like the JD(S), which has been facing problems of rebels, may not be able to repeat its performance in Mandya, and BJP’s effort in the larger Old Mysuru region is unlikely to pay off. Ultimately, it is being seen how the JD(S), being the dominant party enjoying widespread support of the farming community, appeals to its electorate in the days before the election.
