Karnataka: Congress pushes caste, BJP plays Hindutva card as state goes to polls

What has stood out in the LS election campaign in this phase in Karnataka is how the political narrative gradually shifted from Modi and Siddaramaiah's guarantees, to focus on caste and Hindutva. At first, the BJP was heavily banking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's popularity, while the ruling Congress in the state did not miss an opportunity to talk about their developmental work in the state and the party’s much-touted guarantee schemes.

However, the two major rivals – the BJP-JD(S) alliance and the Congress – now seems to be going all out to aggressively push Hindutva and caste narratives in their campaign speeches. Political analysts say the issues in the election changed on the ground ahead of the elections.

Vokkaliga, Billava heartlands and the Muslim vote

Firstly,Most of the 14 constituencies going to the polls on Friday (April 26) fall in the southern part of Karnataka, with 10 of them located in the Old Mysuru region, two in the coastal region, and one in middle Karnataka, i.e., Chitradurga.

Also, nine constituencies are known as the heartlands of the powerful Vokkaliga community, whereas Udupi-Chikmagalur and Dakshina Kannada are dominated by the Billavas and Bunts.

Interestingly, other communities, including Kurubas and other OBC communities, are also deciding factors in these constituencies. Kolar, Chitradurga, and Chamarajanagar are the SC reserved constituencies where the Vokkaligas and Kurubas can sway election results. Unlike the North Karnataka region, the 14 constituencies have fewer numbers of Lingayats and so they do not play much of a role here.

However, Muslims are another major community that is playing a key role in the 14 constituencies. Muslims earlier voted for the Congress and JD(S), enabling the latter to get a significant hold in the Old Mysuru region. But with JD(S) joining hands with the saffron party, the Muslims most likely will shift their allegiance to the Congress. Moreover, the Ulema Emreath Shariat, Karnataka division has asked the comunity not to support the JD(S) this time as it has lost its secular credentials.

Pushing Hindutva and caste

In the run-up to the  national elections, a complex interplay of factors seems to be shaping the political landscape in Karnataka, as the BJP and Congress deployed well-planned strategies that revolve around Hindutva and caste dynamics.

According to political analyst C Rudrappa, at the start of the election campaign the focus was on Modi’s charisma and Siddaramaiah’s guarantees but with time, the narrative shifted to Hindutva and caste. "The LS election in Karnataka is projected as the Narendra Modi vs the guarantee schemes of the Siddaramaiah government. We cannot rule out the impact of these factors. However, on the ground as the election is near, Hindutva and caste factors are working on the ground," he observed.

The BJP, in particular, has intensified its focus on communal polarization, leveraging emotive issues such as love jihad and anti-Pakistan rhetoric to rally support against the Congress government. Recent incidents like the Rameshwaram Cafe blast, the Pakistan Zindabad controversy, and the Neha murder case in Hubli have prominently featured in the BJP's campaign, further fuelling religion in politics in the state.

PM Modi's speeches seem to underscore the BJP's stance, accusing the Congress of favouring Muslims over Hindus economically. The BJP strategically wastes no time in using  various incidents, including cases of alleged assault and moral policing, to bolster its Hindutva narrative and show the Congress as appeasing Muslims.

However, the Congress has pushed back, condemning the BJP's exploitation of personal tragedies for political gain. They cited cases of the murder of a young Muslim woman by her boyfriend, Pradeep, in Kadur, questioning the BJP's selective outrage.

Even as voting begins, these competing narratives will continue to shape the political discourse in Karnataka, said political analysts.

Congress focus on caste 

Meanwhile, it is the Congress that has been building up a caste narrative across the 14 LS constituencies, seeking to capitalise on Vokkaliga votes. Though CM Siddaramaiah is an AHINDA (Minorities, Backward Classes, and Dalits) leader, he and the KPCC chief and deputy CM DK Shivakumar (DKS) are emerging as Vokkaliga leaders. Once termed a Kanakapura Bande (Kanakapura – is his home constituency, and Bande means rock), DKS is laying stake to the Vokkaliga leadership in the Old Mysuru region, where the Vokkaligas are the dominant caste.

It helped the Congress that the JD(S), which was considered as a Vokkaliga party because the majority of leaders belonged to the same community, tied up with BJP in the present elections. The JD(S)' hold over the Vokkaliga caste ostensibly seems to be weakening, said political analysts.

JD(S) dons saffron

Though JD(S) had tie-ups with BJP and Congress before, the Deve Gowda-led party did not visibly pursue the Hindutva mantra. However, this time the JD(S) has shown an inclination towards 'Hindutva' by chanting Jai Sri Ram, prominently donning saffron shawls and making pro-Hindutva statements.

Congress took up the mantle to champion the cause of the Vokkaligas in around 9 LS constituencies, where Vokkaligas are the dominant castes. The Congress projected its leader DKS as the 'next Vokkaliga leader' after former PM HD Deve Gowda. This prompted BJP and JD(S) to push 91-year-old HD Deve Gowda to participate in their election campaigns mainly targeting DKS.

There was also a war of words about Vokkaliga leadership between Deve Gowda's son and former CM HD Kumaraswamy and DKS.

BJP banks on Hindutva belt 

At the same time, the coastal constituencies of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi-Chikmagalur (a part of this constituency attached to the Malnad region, i.e., Chikmagalur) form the main Hindutva belt in Karnataka and favour the BJP.

Therefore, the BJP is banking on Hindutva issues, while the state Congress, for the first time after three decades, is trying to firm up its base by building a caste narrative. The Billava community, which has the largest population in both the two constituencies, was mainly backing BJP but is unhappy with the party for not being given importance at the leadership level. The community lost many youths in communal clashes, and coupled with other such incidents, they are worried that other upper castes are dominating them.

Congress woos Billavas

Congress is using the Billavas' discontent with BJP to their advantage and fielded a Billava leader. Some pro-Hindutva leaders including Satyajit Surathkal and BJP MLA Umananath Kotyan, both from the Billava community, have openly declared that Billava leaders should be supported in the LS elections regardless of the party they belong to.

This has got the BJP worried, and they are trying to regain the Billava support by constantly attacking Congress by raking up its 'appeasement politics’ towards Muslims.

However, it seems, focussing on the caste dynamics is working for Congress. As the Congress has fielded a Billava candidate against a Bunt candidate in Dakshina Kannada, and a Bunt candidate against a Billava candidate in Udupi-Chikmagalur constituency.

Praveen Pujary, Bajrang Dal leader from Mangaluru told The Federal that the Congress's caste narrative strategy has compelled BJP to shift their narrative towards caste rather than fanning the communal narrative in the region.

The Congress had earlier planned to attack BJP on the basis of Modi government's 'partisan' attitude towards Karnataka in the matter of tax devolution and also in the allotment of central funds, etc. But clearly, as these issues are not resonating with the voters, they seem to be more focused on caste narratives, at least, in the first phase of this LS election.

BJP, which is in the grip of a leadership crisis in Karnataka, is clearly worried about the steady caste narrative being built by Congress mainly in the Vokkaliga and Billava heartlands in the Old Mysuru region and coastal region.

The Dalit factor

The three SC (Reserved) constituencies, including Chamarajanagar, Kolar, and Chitradurga, have two Dalit sects. The Left Dalits (mainly untouchables), who constitute 60 per cent of the population and Right Dalits.

Congress had earlier given importance to Right Dalits, and the majority of their Dalit leaders, including Mallikarjuna Kharge, Dr G Parameshwara, HC Mahadevappa, etc., are from the Right Dalit sects. Only a few Left Dalits, like KH Muniappa, got some prominence in the party. BJP had earlier given importance to Left Dalit leaders and a majority of Left Dalits always voted for BJP. They even made Left Dalit leader A Narayana Swamy a Union Minister.

Now, Congress has fielded two Left Dalits from Kolar and Chitradurga and a Right Dalit from Chamarajanagar constituency. This has perturbed the BJP enough for it to start giving importance to the caste factors.

Rudrappa pointed out, "The BJP is compelled to shift its narrative from Hindutva and Modi to caste in this first phase of elections.” It seems Congress got the upper hand in shaping the political narrative in the state in the first phase at least.

It remains to be seen if their strategy pays off.