Page 9 - Devaraj Urs News Today

Lingayat leaders of the BJP have raised the pitch for unleashing the "Lingayat CM" campaign in poll-bound Karnataka to counter the Congress' narrative to brand the ruling party as "anti-Lingayat".

BJP on Monday announced its candidate for the Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat hours after former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress as the electioneering picked up momentum in the southern state with the nomination process to end in two days.

Congress is vital for the political fabric of the country but must strengthen its state-level units to remain relevant The last few days saw a series of political earthquakes of low magnitude causing some shock waves in the national capital as well as in Kerala. It all began with the release of

Jagadish Shettar, who quit the BJP after he was denied a ticket for Karnataka Assembly elections, joined the Congress on Monday.

After prominent Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined the Congress ahead of the upcoming Karnataka assembly elections, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday said the former Karnataka chief minister would be used and later thrown out by Congress.

Shettar is the second prominent BJP leader of the politically-significant Lingayat community to join the Congress since the last week.

BJP on Monday announced its candidate for the Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat hours after former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress as the electioneering picked up momentum in the sourthern state with the nomination process to end in two days.

Any Lingayat joining the Congress closer to polling day is a boost for the party which is desperately trying to woo the community back. After Savadi, many more Lingayat leaders from north K'taka are expected to switch sides, claim Congress sources

The BJP’s quota rejig is reflective of how social coalitions were built from the 1950s to this decade.

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