Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay on Monday completed 100kms of his padayatra (walkathon) by meeting members from the Lingayat community at Vikarabad district, one of the few areas in the state where the religious sect has a formidable presence as it is geographically closer to north Karnataka region where Lingayats are predominant.
The BJP has been pulling out all stops to expand its footprints in the state ahead of the Huzurabad bypoll which is being seen as a final litmus test for the ruling TRS in the run up for 2023 Telangana assembly elections. With a population of less than 15 lakh, Lingayats are numerically and politically insignificant in Telangana, unlike Karnataka where they call the shots, but the BJP has been warming up to them in an attempt to chip them away from the K Chandrasekhar Rao-led TRS which has so far enjoyed their support.
The BJP is luring Lingayats in Telangana by promising them the equal representation and the status in the state the way they enjoy in Karnataka. “Our motto is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and there has been no ‘Vikas’ (development) of the backward class in Telangana”, claimed BJP leader N Ramachander Rao.
“Our strategy is to go for micro-management of election in which we would like to ensure support from all communities which are smaller in population like Lingayats, Brahmins. These communities have been denied the due respect and political representation they deserve. BJP’s social engineering experiment promises inclusivity and equal opportunities to everyone despite their population census,” he said.
The BJP believes KCR’s flagship scheme Dalita Bandhu where he has promised to transfer Rs 10 lakh to Dalit families is going to boomerang as it “blatantly sidelines other castes and communities”. There has been a growing clamour from the BC community to implement a similar scheme for STs and BCs.
As far as Lingayats are concerned, they have been classified as ‘Backward Class D’ in Telangana. The most prominent leader of this community is TRS MP from Zahirabad constituency BB Patil.
“From installing Basaveshwara’s statue near Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad to building community halls in remote areas, we have fulfilled every promise made to the Lingayats and empowered them socially, economically and politically. What has the BJP and Congress done for them,” asked Patil. He also said that he has requested Chief Minister Chandrasekhar Rao to accord OBC status to the community.
But OBC status may be a far-fetched idea since the Lingayat community in Telangana, which mainly hail from agriculture and business background are far advanced or empowered when compared with other backward class groups, and therefore may not be fulfilling all indicators required to be in the OBC list at the national level.
Political Analyst Professor E Venkatesh believes the backward class community on the whole is dissatisfied with the ruling TRS due to lack of political representation. Citing examples of Swamy Goud and Eatala Rajender who switched from TRS to BJP, Prof Venkatest adds the BC community is feeling left out of power after the state bifurcation
“SC, STs, and even Lingayats voted for TRS in 2014, 2018 and 2019, but they are now tilting towards the BJP. By reaching out to a numerically minor community like Lingayats, BJP wants to send out a message that anyone can be the owners or stakeholders of the Hindutva party,” Prof E Venkatesh said.
Is BJP’s social engineering exercise going to hurt both BJP and Congress?
Political observers say unlike in Andhra Pradesh, caste has never been a factor to fight elections in Telangana but some changes can be expected. The BJP has realised that it can’t rely solely on Hindutva pitch to win elections in Telangana and that is why they have been highlighting leaders from most backward communities, and bringing them on centre stage. Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri, Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao are all examples of their social engineering strategy, a tried and tested method which gave them huge dividends in Uttar Pradesh.
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