The issue of Hindutva in UP on which BJP won 255 seats seems to be failing in the Karnataka assembly elections. This is being proved by the changed strategy of the BJP in the Karnataka assembly elections. In the last 90 days, the party has shied away from issues like Hijab-Halal-Azaan and has started talking about development. According to BJP sources, a new strategy is also being prepared for the next 90 days. Apart from development, the focus is going to be on caste politics.
Barely three months are left for the Karnataka assembly elections. Karnataka is the only state in South India where the BJP is in power. In 2018 here too, the party did not get a clear majority, but the BJP formed the government by breaking the Congress MLAs. However, the figures of the surveys that are coming out this time have put the party in trouble.
Home Minister Shah reprimanded CM Bommai
In the survey of BJP central leadership, the party is not getting a majority in Karnataka once again. In the survey, out of a total of 224 assembly seats in the state, the party is getting only 60-70 seats. A similar survey was also conducted by CM Basavaraj Bommai, in which the party claimed to get 110 seats. However, 113 seats are needed for a majority.
According to BJP sources, Home Minister Shah had come to Bengaluru in the past. He had a meeting with Basavaraj Bommai. Shah asked Bommai in a stern tone when the party’s survey shows 60 to 70 seats, on what basis are you claiming to win 110 seats? After this, BJP made a big change in the election strategy for the next three months.
Focus on caste instead of religion
An attempt was made to divide Hindu and Muslim votes by creating the issue of Hijab-Halal and Azaan. Till three months back the same issues were prevailing in Karnataka. From national to local television channels, debates were being held on these in the morning and evening, but the TRP of the local channels which were showing these shows throughout the day came down from 100 to 40.
During the last year, BJP did not see any response on the ground, after that the party retreated from Hindutva politics. BJP has now decided to go for caste politics. Under this, an ordinance to increase reservations for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state was presented in the Assembly.
Through this ordinance, SC’s reservation has been increased from 15 to 17% and ST’s from 3 to 7%. This decision has been taken according to the recommendations of the commission headed by retired High Court Justice HN Nagmohan Das.
This will take the reservation in Karnataka to 56%. That’s why the opposition parties are asking the government how they will implement it. The government has done this exercise to help the SC-ST vote bank because if both are combined, it is around 16% in Karnataka.
Trying to somehow connect Lingayat and Vokkaliga
Similarly, the government had also increased the reservation for the Panchamasali Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. However, the High Court has now asked the government to maintain the status quo on reservations for backward classes.
Lingayats have the largest population in the state after SC-ST. Panchamasali is the largest community coming to Lingayat, which has been demanding increasing reservations for a long time. Their demand is to include the community in categories 3B to 2A of the OBC reservation matrix. This will increase the reservation from 5 to 15%.
Apart from Panchmasali, the Valmiki community is also demanding an increase in reservations for Scheduled Tribes from three to 7.5%. Similarly, BJP is also focusing on small communities. For example, Prime Minister Modi himself met the Banjara community.
“A party which ruled the state for the longest time only focused on the vote bank and never thought about the development of the families of the Banjara community,” he told a rally of the Banjara community.
Wanted to sideline Yediyurappa, but then had to persuade
In 2021, the party removed Yediyurappa from the post of Chief Minister. In his place, Basavaraj Bommai of his own choice was made the Chief Minister. After being removed from the post of CM, calling Yeddyurappa into big programs was also stopped, but its negative impact was seen on the ground.
The chairs were lying vacant in the CM’s program itself. Yediyurappa had also become silent. After this, the party requested him to join the campaign again. Yeddyurappa is very popular in the Lingayat community and people from both Hindu-Muslim communities like him.
There are two groups in Karnataka. One group is for Yediyurappa and the other is against him. It is said that the party’s national general secretary (organization) BL Santosh does not like him. The strategy of Hindutva politics in Karnataka was also tried at the behest of BL Santosh.
However, both Yediyurappa‘s removal and Hindutva politics were not helping the party, so now Hindutva politics has been converted into caste politics and Yediyurappa is back.
