Siddaramaiah pits Kannada identity against BJP’s nationalist agenda in election campaign

Yatra campaigns across the State with contrasting narratives by the two key political opponents have set the tone for a keen contest in poll-bound Karnataka, where the BJP’s hyper-nationalist agenda is being countered by Congress warhorse and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, through the creation of a distinct regional identity and division of caste votes.

The Chief Minister is running the Congress virtually as a regional party, on the lines of the AIADMK under the late J Jayalalithaa, by pushing populist welfare measures through government programmes such as Baghya schemes providing rice, milk, etc, which has benefited over 3 crore families.

Along with these welfare measures, a regional identity is being sought to be created through a separate flag and anthem for the State. The last straw was the Chief Minister’s support for the long-standing demand of Lingayats, a dominant community comprising the Opposition BJP’s main social support base, to be recognised as a separate religious grpup.

A subtext of this demand is that Lingayats, who run a number of profitable educational institutions in Karnataka, would benefit a great deal by getting recognised as a minority.

Accordingly, in a move squarely aimed at dividing Lingayats, Siddaramaiah virtually launched his elections campaign earlier this month by beginning his Nava Karnataka Nirmana (building a new Karnataka), a month-long yatra, from the Lingayat heartland of Basavakalyan in north Karnataka.

State Water Resources Minister MB Patil, who joined the Chief Minister’s yatra, said: “So far, our yatra has been successful. We have highlighted our achievements, especially irrigation works and our welfare schemes.”

Although the Congress does not openly admit to what an outraged BJP has labelled “blatant casteism”, a senior Congress leader from Karnataka told BusinessLine that Kurubas, a community that Siddaramaiah belongs to, has an organic connect with Lingayats in northern Karnataka, and the combination spells good electoral chemistry for the Congress.

Furthermore, it is the first serious attempt to woo this community back into the Congress’ fold after nearly five decades. The Congress’ chief social support base in Karnataka is minorities, some among the backward classes and Dalits, popularly called Ahinda. Overtures to Lingayats is being seen as an expansionist attempt at social engineering.

“We are winning in Karnataka. Siddaramaiah understands that in northern Karnataka, his community’s linkages with Lingayats will benefit the party. You see, Lingayats had drifted from the Congress way back when the party split in 1969, and along with Nijalingappa, himself a Lingayat, a big section of the community started looking elsewhere for political support,” said the Congress leader.

Simultaneously, the BJP has stepped up its Hindutva narrative and focussed on the issues arising out of communal tensions in coastal Karnataka. BJP MP and Minister of State Skill Development Anant Kumar Hegde, a hardliner and an aggressive campaigner on Hindutva issues, has managed to steal some of Siddaramsiah’s thunder by making inflammatory remarks on minorities and secularism that led to an adjournment in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

Hegde had said on Sunday that ‘secularists’ and ‘intellectuals’ were “oblivious to their parentage”. He said people can project themselves as secular, but asserted that he feels ‘happy’ if someone claims with pride that he is a Muslim, or a Christian, or a Lingayat, or a Brahmin, or a Hindu. He further added: “I feel happy because he (the person) knows about his blood, but I don’t know what to call those who claim themselves secular.”

Hegde has otherwise been fairly proactive after taking over as Union Minister, touring the State and attacking the Congress over political murders especially that of Sangh Parivar and BJP activists. Recently, a fisherman was murdered leading to the party calling bandhs in Uttara Kannada district.

The BJP too has launched its Parivarthana Yatra covering all 224 constituencies. The party has covered 18 districts and is set to enter Bengaluru shortly. Party President Amit Shah is expected to visit the city on December 31.

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