What CM Bommai said on Lingayat community support to ruling BJP

Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday claimed that the Lingayat vote bank will remain with BJP till former CM and veteran leader BS Yediyurappa is with the saffron party.

"When elections draw close, Congress showers love on Lingayat community. I don't know why. The Congress never cared for Lingayats in the past 50 years and the community is aware of it. Till senior leader like Yediyurappa is with us, Lingayats stay with us. Not just Lingayats other communities will be with us," Bommai said.

The chief minister charged that the Congress has a culture of use and throw and Shettar would also meet the same fate.

"Jagadish Shettar has gone to the party that expelled Veenendra Patil, Bangarappa, and Devraj Urs. First, honour, and then insult after the election. Jagdish Shettar will be used and thrown out," Bommai told news agency ANI.

Notably, the Lingayats, who once back Congress shifted their loyalty after late CM Veerendra Patil's unceremonious removal in 1990.

In 1989, Under the leadership of Patil, a Lingayat strongman, The Congress stormed to power in Karnataka with a landslide victory, winning 178 seats out of 224 MLA seats.

B S Yediyurappa remains a central figure for the BJP in Karnataka. When the veteran leader was asked to quit as the Chief Minister of Karnataka, there were speculations that the Lingayats, which is one of the main vote banks of the BJP will split.

But Yediyurappa said that he only opted out of electoral politics due to age factor but he will remain a BJP party worker and travel the length and breadth of Karnataka to work for the party and ensure that the saffron returns to power.

The Lingayats comprise around 17 to 18 per cent of the population and their votes are extremely important for the BJP to come to power. The Lingayat community, which gave 22 chief minister to Karnataka has 99 sub-sects and holds sway in nearly 100 assembly constituencies in the state.