Karnataka polls: BJP bets on internal quotas to break Congress hold on SCs, expand base

In October 2022, the Bommai government increased reservations for SCs in jobs and education from 15 per cent to 17 per cent. On March 24 this year, the government fixed internal SC reservations — a long-time demand — by setting aside six of the 17 per cent for the SC (left) group. The SC reservation pool currently looks like this: SC left (6 per cent); SC right (5.5 per cent); “touchable” SCs 4.5 per cent; and other SCs (1 per cent). Madigas, who make up 6 per cent of the state’s 17 per cent SC population, will be the biggest beneficiaries of the move.

The BJP has gradually nurtured the support of the Madigas as part of a strategy to break the traditional grasp of the Congress party over the SCs in the state. The party has been able to tap into a feeling among the Madigas of being denied benefits of reservations in politics, jobs, and education on account of domination of the other sub-castes of Dalits, like the SC (right) Holeyas, who are mostly allied with the Congress, and the SC (touchable) sub-castes such as the the Lambanis and Bhovis.

While the Congress has over the years backed prominent SC (right) leaders such as party president Mallikarjun Kharge, state leaders K H Muniyappa and G Parameshwara to strengthen its base among Dalits, the BJP has worked to nurture leaders like Karjol and Narayanaswamy to break the Congress’s monopoly. The BJP is also wary of the rise of Kharge to a prominent, national position and the consolidation of Dalit votes as a consequence.

Over the last several Assembly elections, the BJP has gained a strong footing among the Madigas. A section of the BJP has also been viewing the combined SC and ST vote base (nearly 24 per cent of the state population) as an alternative to the support of its key base, the dominant Lingayat community (17 per cent).

Ahead of the 2008 assembly polls, when the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 110 seats, it captured 22 of the 36 seats reserved for SCs. The Congress won only 10. In 2013, the Congress party got a clear majority and won 17 of the SC seats, while the Janata Dal (Secular) won 10 and the BJP seven. In 2018, when the BJP emerged as the single largest party again, it got 16 of the SC seats. The Congress got 12 and the JD(S) six.

A clear example of the BJP’s push for the Madigas is Karjol, a close associate of the former CM BS Yediyurappa. He was appointed as a deputy CM in 2019 and has nursed ambitions of being a CM in the event of the BJP going against the trend of appointing dominant community leaders.

The BJP central leadership has also favoured Abbaiah Narayanswamy, the Chitradurga MP and six-time MLA, who is considered to be close to party national general secretary (organisation) B L Santhosh. In 2022, amid speculation of a change of guard in the run-up to the 2023 polls, Narayanaswamy was widely rumoured to be a possible replacement for Bommai.

The Dalit (left) group’s key demand has been the implementation of a 2012 report by the Justice A J Sadashiva commission, which has not been tabled by the successive Congress, JD(S), or BJP governments.

Among the essential findings of the commission, made public through a press release, was that the Madiga community or the left Dalits, who are considered untouchables in the caste hierarchy, were more socially backward than the right Dalit group. The commission also found that the majority of the (then) 15 per cent reservation for Dalits was being cornered by the right Dalits and other groups such as Bhovis and Lambanis. Holeyas and Madigas make up nearly one-third each of the SC population in Karnataka, with the numbers of the Madigas being about two percent higher than that of the Holeyas, the report said.

Ahead of the 2018 Karnataka Assembly polls, the Congress headed by Siddaramaiah had indicated its intent to table the report following pressure from H Anjaneya, a Madiga minister in his Cabinet. However, the party did not do so amid internal pressures from a strong Dalit lobby in the party.

Ahead of the 2018 polls, the BJP said it would look at the report’s recommendations after “a firm review once voted to power”. The party will “ensure fruits from the government will reach every Dalit in the state — the Congress used Dalits as just a vote bank,” Santhosh had said.

Subsequently, the Bommai government rejected the Sadashiva commission report but implemented recommendations of a Cabinet sub-committee.

“There has been an agitation for a long time for internal reservations among the SCs. There are nearly 101 castes among the SCs. There are a lot of differences in social and educational backwardness of these 101 castes,” Bommai said.

“The demand for internal reservations has been made by our community because we still remain backward. There are no IAS and IPS officers from the Madiga community. Very few have gone on to become postgraduates. The move to provide internal reservations will be a big step in changing this situation,” said M Nagaraj, a Madiga activist from Shivamogga.

While internal reservations are expected to consolidate the Madiga support in favour of the BJP, it could pose a threat to the support of upwardly-mobile SC groups such as Lambanis and Bhovis, who earlier got a large share of the SC quota. The Lambanis (also known as Banjaras) had staged protests after the announcement.