Congress Plays Vokkaliga Card against BJP, JD-S in Karnataka as Polling Day Nears

The Karnataka Congress has brought the issue of caste to the forefront ahead of the Lok Sabha elections to 14 seats in southern Karnataka scheduled on Friday.

State Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda claimed on Wednesday that a Vokkaliga leader from the Congress will become the CM and hence people belonging to the community should back the party.

Speaking at Chikkaballapur, Gowda also alleged that attempts are being made to divide the Vokkaligas.

"The BJP has not issued tickets to Vokkaliga leaders. But the Congress has given tickets to eight Vokkaliga candidates. If you want Vokkaliga leadership in the future, support the Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, the leaders of the Rajya Vokkaligara Sangha also appealed to the community to back the Congress party.

D. Hanumanthaiah, the President of the organisation, said the Congress has always stood for the development of the community.

"The contributions of the party for community's mutts are noble. The Congress helped H.D. Deve Gowda to become the PM while his son H.D. Kumaraswamy was made the CM by the same party. But the JD-S established a parallel Vokkaliga mutt and shunted out Vokkaliga leaders from the party. The BJP brought down D.V. Sadananda Gowda who resigned from the post of the CM within 11 months, and denied him a ticket for the Lok Sabha election. Sitting BJP MP Pratap Simha was also denied a ticket," he alleged.

The organisation's Treasurer Krishne Gowda said there should be no doubt that D.K. Shivakumar will become the Chief Minister.

“Our community is going to support him. Let a new leadership from the Vokkaliga community emerge,” he said.

The Vokkaliga community is influential in southern Karnataka and plays a major role in elections.

However, the developments might also lead to internal strife in the Congress as CM Siddaramaiah has reiterated that he will remain the Chief Minister for the full five-year term.

He has been saying that if people want him to continue in his chair, they should ensure the victory of the Congress candidates.