Overall, Congress leading in 138 out of 224 seats
New Delhi:
The BJP’s last-minute move to woo Karnataka’s Lingayat voters did not pay off and the Congress made huge gains in seats dominated by the influential community, latest trends in the vote count indicate.
Lingayats account for 17 per cent of Karnataka’s population and can potentially change the outcome in 78 seats. Out of these 78, the Congress is currently ahead in 54 seats, while the BJP is ahead in 19. Overall, Congress is leading in 138 out of 224 seats.
The trend is significant as the influential community is known to be a major support base of the BJP. The BJP has strong community leaders including veteran BS Yeddyurappa and current chief minister Basavaraj S Bommai.
The trends also show that the BJP’s score in Lingayat-dominated seats fell to 28 and the Congress gained 29.
The BJP’s poor performance in these seats comes despite a desperate attempt to reach out to Lingayats ahead of the elections.
In a decision that sparked a major controversy, the BJP government in March decided to scrap the four per cent reservation for Muslims and reallocate the reservation among the influential Lingayats and Vokkaligas. Muslims who were eligible for reservation benefits were classified under the category of economically weaker sections.
This step of the BJP government has been challenged in the Supreme Court. Arguing in the court, the Basavaraj Bommai government had said that it had taken a “conscious decision” not to continue with reservation based only on religion as it was unconstitutional.
However, the move was seen as a desperate attempt by the ruling party to ensure the support of Lingayats and Vokkaligas ahead of a tough electoral contest.
The BJP’s chances of attracting Lingayat votes again became a talking point after Jagadish Shettar, a prominent leader of the community and former chief minister, joined the Congress.
Yediyurappa, however, said during the elections that the BJP had the full support of the Lingayats.
“100 per cent Lingayat community is with us. The Congress is trying its level best to create some problems, but almost all Lingayat lords are with us and they told me that they will support the BJP,” he said.