The Vokkaliga Sangha has urged the community to support the Congress. The Sangha said that the Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar brought glory to the state and the Vokkaliga community.
Demanding that D K Shivakumar be the Chief Minister (CM) of the state, the Vokkaligas openly extended their support to the Congress party. “No Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), no Janata Dal Secular (JDS); only D K Shivakumar is our choice,” the community said.
The Karnataka Vokkaliga Sangha, at press conference in Bangalore, announced that the community will not vote for the BJP and JDS candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
This comes as a big blow to the BJP and the JDS as Vokkaligas have been traditional voters of the two parties. Hanumanthe Gowda, the president of the Karantaka Vokkaliga Sangha, said that the major reason behind shifting the community’s allegiance from the JDS to the Congress is the ‘lack of representation’ of the community in the tickets given by the JDS. They said that while the Congress has given tickets to eight candidates of the community, the JDS-BJP alliance has ignored most Vokkaliga leaders.
The development comes a day after D K Shivakumar said at a rally that “those who want me to become the CM will not be disappointed.” Addressing the voters in the Old Mysore region where Vokkaligas are a dominant community, Shivakumar said, “I know you want me to become the CM. Your hopes won’t be belied. Vote for the son of your house. I will serve you.”
The Vokkaliga leaders justified their decision by recalling the achievements of the Congress party, not just in the state but across the country. Krishna Gowda, another member of the Sangha said that the Congress party in its previous governments granted permission to run the State Vokkaligga Sangha Engineering, Dental, Law, Physiotherapy, Nursing, ITI and other colleges. He also alleged that JDS, despite having Vokkaliga support earlier, did not do anything for the development of the community.
A press release by the Sangha pointed out the failures of the JDS government and credited the then CM of Karnataka, Veerappa Moily, for providing four percent reservation to the Vokkaliga community in 1992-1994.
One of the most politically important communities of Karanatka, the Vokkaligas make up 11 percent of the state population.
Elections and allegations
Earlier this month, The Karnataka BJP unit had filed a complaint with the Election Commission accusing Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar of “false and unsubstantiated” allegations about the role of the BJP in bringing down a “Vokkaliga Chief Minister” referring to H D Kumaraswamy.
As per news reports, in 2019, the BJP had formed the government after the collapse of the JD(S)-Congress coalition led by HD Kumaraswamy.
The Vokkaliga community’s political importance is evident by the fact that both BJP-JDS alliance and the Congress party have been indulging in a war of words and accused each other of not doing enough for the people of the community.
The allegations have been growing harsher since BJP and JDS candidates met Sri Nirmalanandanatha Swamiji of Adichunchanagiri, a Vokkaliga seer.
A news report suggests that Agriculture Minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy’s statement that JD(S) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, when he was Chief Minister, was responsible for tapping the phone of Vokkaliga seer Nirmalananda Swami, head of the Adichunchanagiri mutt, has added fuel to the war of words between the Congress and the BJP-JD(S) alliance partners.
The Vokkaligas’ open support to the Congress is likely to affect the BJP-JDS vote share in the upcoming elections, but experts say that local political issues may not turn the tables in the general elections. Rakesh Kombra, a political analyst said that Vokkaligas are an important factor in the politics of Karnataka. The community will only vote for the party that has worked for them. However, this is not exclusive to the Vokkaliga community; it suggests a greater change in the voting pattern of the common people, where they are now switching support from their traditional choices.
The results of the general elections, taking place in seven phases in the country, are to be announced on June 4. The state has 28 Lok Sabha seats; the four Bangalore seats are going to polls on April 26.
