While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hopes to win the Karnataka assembly polls on the ‘double engine’ plank, the simmering reservation row regarding the inclusion of Panchamasalis among the Lingayats in the 2A Category of reservations could pose a serious challenge for the ruling party.
A prominent Panchamasali seer in Karnataka said the community is mulling over fielding 52 Independent candidates in the upcoming Assembly elections. Such a move could pose a direct threat to the BJP, which has been on the receiving end of the community’s wrath over the quota issue.
Basava Jaya Mrutyunjaya, honourary president of the Panchamasali reservation agitation committee and Kudalasangama Panchamasali Peeth seer, who is on an indefinite protest at the Freedom Park in Bengaluru, told reporters on Thursday that the March 15 deadline given to the state government to grant the Panchamasali community Category 2A status for OBC reservation was over.
“Candidates from 52 constituencies where our community has the presence are prepared to contest the elections, but we have yet to take a decision as we don’t want to get into electoral politics,” Mrutyunjaya said.
The Panchamasalis, the largest sub-sect within the powerful Lingayat umbrella in Karnataka, have been asking for a higher share of OBC reservations. The Panchamasalis are currently included under 3B (5%) of the OBC reservation matrix but want to be included in category 2A (15%).
The Lingayats that have BJP chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and former CM BS Yediyurappa among its tallest leaders form at least 18% of the state’s population, and Panchamasalis, a peasant community, are over half that number.
Accusing the Bommai-led government of failing to address the Panchamasalis’ concerns, the seer warned of tough steps ahead of polls if the reservation demand is not met.
“Our protest completed 61 days on March 15 and we had set that as a deadline for the government to take a decision on the reservation issue,” Mrutyunjaya said. “Now we are saying that if a decision is not taken by April 10, we will take to the streets to campaign against those working against the community.”
The seer added that a final decision will be based on the community’s state-level meeting outcome and the decision taken by the government in its next cabinet meeting, which will be held in the coming days.
According to the seer, the Panchamasalis will protest either by fielding independent candidates or boycotting the polls and campaigning against those not providing the quota.
Earlier, in February, the seer had said that the present CM and former CM had both failed to respond and didn’t even discuss the reservation issue with the community. He further plans to visit all 224 constituencies and tell people how the government has betrayed the community on reservation.
In January, Mrutyunjaya had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said that the community has lost trust in the chief minister and urged the PM to meet the demand for the 2A category for the community.
Panchamasalis constitute a large chunk of CM’s Shiggaon constituency
As the Panchamasalis have been waging a prolonged protest over the reservation issue, political experts believe it will have a direct bearing on poll results. They say that the Panchamasali community could change the course in some 70 seats, including Shiggaon in Haveri, currently represented by chief minister Bommai.
While Bommai wants to contest from the Shiggaon constituency that had elected him in 2018, MP Siddeshwara from the Davanagere constituency told reporters on Wednesday, “This is a national party. National leaders will decide. They will say who will contest from where,” adding that nobody knows whether the chief minister will get the ticket.
Amid the intensifying battle for tickets within the ruling BJP, there is speculation that Bommai, too, is scouting for another constituency as he is unsure of retaining the Shiggaon seat due to the ire of the Panchamasalis that constitute a large chunk of Shiggaon.