Karnataka Elections: whom will the Lingayats vote for?

Just 12 days left for the Karnataka’s D-day. With the parties wooing the people, conducting rallies and speeches, one has to wonder whom the precious voted will go to.

BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (Secular)- these three major parties will fall short of the majority, according to the latest opinion poll. If that’s the case, former prime minister HD Deve Gowda’s JD(S) will hold the key.

If Congress and JD(S) form a post-poll alliance, experts suggest water resources minister MB Patil will most likely become the deputy chief minister. However, Patil, who championed the Lingayat community’s separate religious status, claims Congress will form the government on its own and there won’t be a need to form an alliance.

In an exclusive interview, Patil claimed that the BJP is only using chief ministerial aspirant BS Yeddyurappa and that he will be dumped after the elections.

READ ALSO: Karnataka Elections: Election Commission pulls down party’s ads

Here are the excerpts from the interview:

You led the movement for minority status for the Lingayat community. Now, after seeing the reactions from various circles, do you think the move has backfired?

The movement has not backfired. Veerashaiva Lingayats are hardly 5 percent (of Lingayats). So, 95 percent people appreciate the stand of Siddaramaiah. All our candidates, not just Lingayat candidates, will see an increase of a minimum of 15-20 percent votes compared to the last time. Yeddyurappa couldn’t get a nomination for his son even, so it is Ananth Kumar, (RSS functionary) BL Santosh and all these people who are taking the calls. There was one minister (Davangere MP) GM Siddeshwara in the Union government who has been removed. There are all Brahmins now. There is no Lingayat in the central cabinet. Everybody knows BJP’s agenda. But let me tell you, we are not using Lingayats. Lingayat is our identity. I’m campaigning on development. But some religious leaders, Veerashaivas, are trying to campaign against me. Still, I don’t ask for votes for the Lingayat movement. We are not using it politically. Once the results come, everyone will know that the move didn’t backfire at all. All the opinion polls except one suggest we are ahead.

BJP claims they have a Lingayat leader as CM aspirant and hence Lingayat votes would go to them. What do you think?

So what? The CM candidate’s son was also denied a ticket, so how powerful is the Lingayat leader? They will not make him the chief minister.

READ ALSO:  This is what Rashtriya Basava Sena has to say about B.S Yeddyurappa

But they have projected him as their CM candidate, what about that?

They have projected him, but they are dropping his son’s name on one side and the central minister (Siddeshwara) is dropped on the other side. It is just a game plan and now the Lingayats have understood. Now, I see the reaction everywhere. They have come to the conclusion that they will not make him the chief minister. They are just using him. They will dump him on the age factor. They will say he is above 75 and they have not made anybody who is above that age the chief minister. They are going to dump Yeddyurappa. Lingayats are not going to vote for BJP because of the treatment meted out to Yeddyurappa.

In case of a post-poll alliance, do you see yourself being the deputy CM?

Our party will get a clear-cut majority; Siddaramaiah will become the chief minister of the state. There is no question of any alliance with any party. We will get a majority on our own because we have done so much of good work and people have seen five years of misrule (during the BJP’s tenure), jail-bail-jail-bail, that’s what happened, one was coming out and another was going inside.

READ ALSO:  BJP President Amit Shah accuses Siddaramaiah govt for pocketing funds

How many seats do you see Congress getting?

We will get a majority of our own. We will get a minimum of 125-130 seats.

Any message for Yeddyurappa who says Congress tried its best to divide Lingayats?

Yeddyurappa, poor person, I wish him all the best for his health. He is being misused by BJP. He had also signed for the separate religious status of Veerashaiva-Lingayats once. The RSS people are using him and they are making him a scapegoat. So, Yeddyurappa should think now, and it was good that he had formed the KJP (Karnataka Janata Paksha). In fact, if he had continued in KJP, today he would have been leading the Lingayat movement.