Congress tries to win over Lingayats using Rahul

Team Udayavani, Mar 1, 2018, 11:15 AM IST

Bengaluru: Congress president Rahul Gandhi had put all his efforts during his current north Karnataka visit – charming the overwhelming Lingayat people group that has customarily voted in favour of the BJP, especially since the 1994 Assembly polls.

Nearly in each public speech Rahul made during his Hyderabad-Karnataka visit (February 10-13) and Mumbai-Karnataka visit (February 24-26), he summoned Basavanna – the twelfth century social reformer credited as the author of the Lingayat confidence. Truth be told, a video of him recounting Ivanaarava…Ivanammava has turned into a web sensation. Passing by swarm reaction, Rahul figured out how to drive the message home in spite of error.

“It was a reasonable endeavour to confine B S Yeddyurappa, who is the main Lingayat face of the BJP,” political examiner Harish Ramaswamy said. The Lingayat people group, he brought up, veered far from the Congress after the demise of former chief minister Veerendra Patil. “The unsaid help of the Congress to the development requesting a different Lingayat religion has bothered the BJP’s help base, in light of the fact that the BJP has not stood firm on the issue.”

Kayakave Kailasa (work is worship) and Nudidante Nade (walk the talk) were a portion of the Basavanna’s vachanas that Rahul conjured amid his attacks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also, he accomplished more than that. Rahul went to the powerful Lingayat religious focuses – Gavimutt in Koppal, Sharana Basaveshwara Temple in Kalaburagi, the Murugha Mutt in Dharwad and the Anubhava Mantapa at Basavakalyan in Bidar. “What Rahul attempted to do was to hit two birds with one stone,” said A Narayana, who shows legislative issues and open strategy at Azim Premji University. “Basavanna’s allure is past Lingayats. Indeed, even Dalits and OBCs, who shape the Congress’ centre voting public, relate to Basavanna.”

As indicated by Narayana, summoning Basavanna is in accordance with the Congress’ new approach towards Hindutva. “Congress appears to need to avoid its star Muslim picture and champion the reason for comprehensive Hindutva. Rahul likewise played safe by specifically connecting with Lingayats, on the grounds that the BJP has blamed his gathering for attempting to partition the group through the different religion development,” Narayana said. Indeed, even Modi has taken to Basavanna generally – he hailed the Anubhava Mantapa in Parliament as of late – as the two parties hope to charm his devotees in front of the surveys.