The play at key Lingayat and Vokkaliga seats in Karnataka's Assembly election

Of Karnataka’s 23 chief ministers so far, 16 of them have been from the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities. Close to 70%. What makes these two vote banks the heavyweights in the southern state?

Similar to the rest of India, Karnataka’s political equations rely heavily on caste, with the Lingayats and Vokkaligas carrying more heft than most, despite Dalits, Muslims and OBCs forming a large part of the state’s population.

These two communities, however, have differing loyalties, with the Veerashaiva-Lingayats siding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), largely due to the efforts of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, who belongs to the community. Lingayats account for 17% of Karnataka’s population and are expected to hold sway over 100 of the state’s 224 assembly seats.


In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP won 24 out of the 28 seats in Karnataka, with Lingayat-dominated constituencies contributing significantly to the party's victory.

On the other side of the fence is the Vokkaliga community, a Janata Dal (Secular) backer, which has on occasion backed the Congress.They form 11% of Karnataka's population.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, the Congress won 45 out of the 94 seats in South Karnataka, which has a significant Vokkaliga population.

However, in recent years, both communities have become politically fluid, and their support could swing either way, making their seats crucial for any party's victory in Karnataka's elections.

With the race for Karnataka’s 224-seat Assembly heating up, parties are vying to curry favour with both communities, putting a few key seats under the spotlight.

Lingayat bastions

Shiggaon: Home to current Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and a Lingayat stronghold, the community is loyal to the BJP, but the Congress and JD(S) will be battling hard to make the seat their own. The Congress has fielded Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan against Bommai, switching candidates just a day before the nominations were filed. Mohammed Yousuf Savanur was originally supposed to contest but was dropped due to opposition to him for being an outsider.

Shikaripura: This seat is the bastion of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa and is part of the Lingayat-dominated district of Shivamogga. The BJP leader has exerted near-total dominance over the seat for four decades, with his son BY Vijayendra now contesting from there. The BJP has lost this seat only twice since 1983.

Varuna: The Varuna constituency will see a mega showdown between two heavyweights, each with a large Lingayat support base — Congress's Siddaramaiah and BJP's V Somanna. While Siddaramaiah, a favourite for the CM's post, will hope to retain his Lingayat voter base in the Mysuru region, Somanna will also play to his appeal within the Lingayat mutts.

Chikkamagaluru: Traditionally a BJP seat, it is home to the party’s national general secretary CT Ravi, who has been winning this constituency since 2004. The Congress has come second in three of the four elections since 2004 and every time, it has fielded a different candidate against Ravi. In the 2018 election, he defeated Congress's BL Shankar by a margin of over 26,000 votes.

Vokkaliga bastions

Hanur: Currently in the hands of the Congress, the Hanur seat is one of the state’s Vokkaliga-dominated regions and has been hotly contested. The BJP lost it in 2018 by just a 5% margin. Congress candidate R Narendra and BJP’s Preetham Nagappa are contesting here, with some history between them already.
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Gundlupet: Another seat in the Old Mysuru region, this seat was snatched from the Congress by the BJP in the last election. The Congress has fielded HM Ganesh Prasad against the BJP’s incumbent CS Niranjan.

Badami: A Kuruba-majority seat, this constituency is home to Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah, where 2018 saw the BJP almost eke out a win with their candidate B Sriramulu losing by a margin of fewer than 1,700 votes. The BJP has fielded Shantha Gowda Patil this time, while the Congress is fielding Bheemasen B. Chimmannakatti, with Siddaramaiah contesting from Varuna instead.

Kanakapura: Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar and state Revenue Minister R Ashoka face off in Kanakapura, a stronghold of the Congress leader since 2008. Ashoka, a prominent Vokkaliga face in the BJP, has been moved from the Padmanabhanagar constituency to fight Shivakumar.

Channapatna: The Channapatna Assembly seat is currently held by JD(S) chief and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy. While the JD(S) is unlikely to rake in the numbers for a majority government, it will be crucial in deciding who ultimately forms the government. Kumaraswamy has remained unbeaten here since 2004.