New Delhi: The Election Commission will announce the dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections on Tuesday. EC sources said the announcement is likely to be made around 11am.
The Congress is looking to retain power in this crucial southern state while the BJP is leaving no stone unturned to defeat its foe. Deve Gowda’s JD (S) is the third player in these polls.
In 2013, the Congress won 122 seats in the 24-member Legislative Assembly.
Parties like MIM of Asaduddin Owaisi, Mayawati’s BSP, Sharad Pawar’s NCP etc are also trying their luck in all-important Karnataka Assembly polls. The BSP and NCP have joined the JDS led pre-poll alliance to take on both the Congress and the BJP.
In a deft political move, the Siddaramaiah government in Karnataka decided to ask the Centre to recognise the Lingayats as an independent religion. The Lingayats make up for 14% of the total population of the state and are seen as a crucial votebank.
“Our fight has reached a logical end. We have always maintained that Lingayats are not Hindus. Hope the Centre will accept our demand,” Water Resources Minister and Lingayat leader MB Patil said after the announcement.
The RSS has already opposed the independent religion tag to Lingayats on the ground that it will “divide” the Hindu religion.Siddaramaiah’s move has put the main opposition BJP in a fix as Lingayats are the backbone of the BJP in Karnataka. Its CM candidate BS Yeddyurappa is also a Lingayat and the saffron party in the state is in a dilemma. According to a confidant of Yeddyurappa, “If we oppose it, we might lose the support of Lingayats who are over 16% of the state’s population. If we support it, the RSS may not like it. We really need to be careful.”
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