Congress, BJP seek to corner each other over Lingayat 'pride'

BJP and Congress have accused each other of ill-treating Lingayats. Congress triggered the exchange alleging that BJP had 'hurt the pride' of Lingayats by 'ill-treating' its leaders such as BS Yediyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi.

Admitting Shettar, a six-time BJP MLA from Hubli-Dharwad Central, into Congress on Monday, KPCC president DK Shivakumar claimed Lingayat leaders were leaving BJP in hordes to protect their self-esteem. Shettar had snapped his four-decade old association with BJP, miffed over denial of ticket to contest the May 10 assembly polls. Congress has fielded him in his Dharwad seat.

Shivakumar described Shettar as a political leader with a spotless reputation. He said he had received requests from many local BJP leaders from districts, including Shettar's fans, to admit them into the party. He said he had asked the local units to take their requests forward. Lingayats, which is the largest community in Karnataka, would stand by Congress as it did during the reign of SM Krishna, Shivakumar said.


CM Basavaraj Bommai, a Lingayat himself, however, said the community would remain with BJP as long as Yediyurappa was with it. Congress would respect Shettar first and 'throw him out later' as it had done with other leaders, he claimed. The lotus would bloom in constituencies where leaders have left the party, he told journalists in Mysuru. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi sought to know from AICC leader Rahul Gandhi how many Lingayat leaders became CMs from Congress. Trivedi said Congress had 'unceremoniously' removed Veerendra Patil and Indira Gandhi 'defeated' S Nijalingappa. On the other hand, three out of four BJP CMs were from the community, he said.