Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay on Monday marked the 100th day of his padayatra (walkathon) by meeting members of the Lingayat community in Vikarabad district, one of the few areas in the state where the religious sect has a formidable presence as it Geographically close. North Karnataka region where Lingayats predominate.
The BJP is pulling out all the stops to expand its footprint in the state ahead of the Huzurabad bypoll, which is being seen as the final litmus test for the ruling TRS for the 2023 Telangana Assembly elections. With a population of less than 1.5 million, Lingayats are numerically and politically insignificant in Telangana, unlike Karnataka where they call the shots, but the BJP is warming them up in an effort to distance them from the K Chandrashekhar Rao-led TRS. . which has been supported by them so far.
The BJP is wooing Lingayats in Telangana by promising them equal representation and status in the state, the way they enjoy in Karnataka. BJP leader N Ramachandra Rao claimed, “Our motto is ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ and there has been no ‘development’ of backward classes in Telangana.”
“Our strategy is to go for micro-management of elections in which we want to ensure support from all the communities which are small in population like Lingayats, Brahmins. These communities have been denied the due respect and political representation they deserve. BJP’s social engineering experiment promises to provide inclusive and equal opportunities to all irrespective of census.”
The BJP believes that KCR’s flagship scheme Dalit Bandhu, in which he has promised to transfer Rs 10 lakh to Dalit families, is going to boomerang as it “clearly sidelines other castes and communities”. . There is a growing demand from the BC community to implement a similar plan. For ST and BC.
As far as Lingayats are concerned, they are classified as ‘Backward Class D’ in Telangana. The most prominent leader of this community is TRS MP from Zaheerabad 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 we made to Lingayats and empowered them socially, economically and politically. What have BJP and Congress done for them.” He also said that he has requested Chief Minister Chandrashekhar Rao to grant OBC status to the community.
But the status of OBCs may be a far-fetched one because the Lingayat community in Telangana, who mainly come from agricultural and occupational backgrounds, are much more advanced or empowered than other backward class groups, and therefore may not meet all the indicators. can. OBC List at National Level
Political analyst Professor E Venkatesh believes that the backward classes overall are dissatisfied with the ruling TRS due to lack of political representation. Citing the examples of Swami Gaur and Eatala Rajender, who switched from TRS to BJP, Prof Venkatesh said that the BC community is feeling out of power after the bifurcation of the state.
“SC, ST and even Lingayats had voted for TRS in 2014, 2018 and 2019, but they are now leaning towards BJP. By reaching out to minority community like Lingayats, BJP wants to send the message that anyone can be the owner or stakeholder of Hindutva party,” Prof E Venkatesh said.
Will the BJP’s social engineering exercise hurt both the BJP and the Congress?
Political observers say that unlike Andhra Pradesh, caste has never been a factor in contesting elections in Telangana, but some changes can be expected. BJP has realized that it cannot rely solely on Hindutva pitch to win elections in Telangana and that is why they are exposing leaders of the most backward communities, and bringing them to the centrestage. Telangana BJP president Bandi Sanjay, Nizamabad MP Arvind Dharmapuri, Adilabad MP Soyam Bapu Rao are all examples of his social engineering strategy, a tried-and-tested method that paid him huge dividends in Uttar Pradesh.
read all breaking news, breaking news And coronavirus news Here
.