Parties woo communities ahead of Karnataka's election season

BENGALURU: Ahead of a series of elections, Congress and BJP have started reaching out to communities using different approaches. Not to be left behind, Janata Dal (Secular) has also begun preparations, and it will organise a four-day workshop for its rank and file from Monday.
Reservation-related demands are expected to be a key factor in polls and Congress functionaries are meeting representatives of various communities to consolidate their support.Last week, Congress legislators from the Vokkaliga community discussed a strategy to boost the party’s image in the community.
This was followed by a meeting of Lingayat MLAs and MLCs, who discussed issues such as the caste census and how to woo a community that has traditionally backed BJP. “It is propaganda that Vokkaliga votes are reserved for JD(S) and Lingayats are a vote bank of BJP. We are going to break that myth and get the confidence of these communities by showing that other parties have only exploited them,” said Congress MLA HD Ranganath, a Vokkaliga.
Congress outreach
State Congress president DK Shivakumar is organising conventions for disadvantaged groups such as Tigalas, Nekaras, Banjaras and Lambanis through his newly established party wing called Most Backward Classes Forum.
Opposition leader Siddaramaiah is attending events organised by various communities in what is being seen as an indirect launch of his erstwhile AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) movement. At a convention of Madivalas on Saturday, Siddaramaiah said that it was backward communities’ right to fight for justice.
Congress is hoping that BJP’s decisions to replace BS Yediyurappa as the chief minister and grant delayed nod for his state tour will backfire and cost the saffron camp a chunk of Lingayat votes.
“Our immediate objective is to protect the community’s interests as there are attempts to undermine it by under-reporting its population in the so-called caste census. As Lingayat voters are most secular, we will convince them that Congress is the only party they can bank on,” said Eshwar Khandre, Congress working president and Veerashaiva-Lingayat leader.
BJP, in the meantime, is pressing ahead with its plans to retain support from Lingayats, Panchamasalis, Vokkaligas, Marathas, Balijas and STs by addressing their reservation-related demands.
“Congress may be daydreaming about luring Lingayats, but it won’t come true. BJP is with Yediyurappa and will support the state tour. Lingayats are happy as BJP has made Basavaraj Bommai, a community leader from north Karnataka, the CM. Plus, Bommai is performing well,” said BJP general secretary and MLC N Ravi Kumar.