Karnataka elections 2018: If we win, will reopen talks on religion status for Lingayats, says Amit Shah

The issue of the recommendation of a separate religion status for the Lingayat community by the Congress government in Karnataka has been a central underlying issue in the Assembly polls, although the political parties themselves never raised it directly in their campaigns.

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The BJP has maintained silence on the issue since it draws a great deal of support from the Lingayat community who make up nearly 17% of the population in the state at present.

Asked if his party would suffer losses on account of the Lingayat issue, the BJP national president said, “There is no loss other than having to face questions about a Lingayat separate religion.”

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Amit Shah also maintained that the BJP is not linked in any way with G Janardhana Reddy, a former minister and BJP leader accused of operating an illegal mining mafia in the Bellary region of Karnataka when the BJP was in power from 2008 to 2013 — despite Reddy making appearances in the campaign and eight persons linked to the group he was identified with now contesting the polls as BJP candidates. “What I said earlier is final — there are no links to Janaradhana Reddy,’’ Shah said.

The controversy around the Reddys has dogged the BJP after the party granted tickets to two of the Reddy brothers and several associates on the premise that they would be able to deliver 15-20 seats to the party on the back of their money power — despite alleged links to the illegal mining mafia that operated in the Bellary region during the BJP regime of 2008-13.

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The BJP president said that the party would give a full-five year term as chief minister to state party president B S Yeddyurappa, a former CM, if the party should come to power. He denied sidelining of the Lingayat leader, who did not feature in the final leg of the BJP campaign despite the party having initially relied on him.

Shah said the BJP aims to defeat castiesm, and dynastic and appeasement politics in the Karnataka polls.

“There is no question of us not getting a majority; we will reach a clear majority. As per feedback, we will win 130 seats and there is no question of an alliance,” Shah said. “The Karnataka polls will have a national impact because we think it is the gateway to the South.”

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Also Thursday, Shah took out a roadshow in Badami, one of the two seats from where Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is contesting. The seat is crucial for both parties, for it is expected to decide the fate of Siddaramaiah himself. A wide perception is that Siddaramaiah faces tough caste equations in Chamundeshwari, the other seat where he is contesting, which is seen as one of the reasons he has opted for the additional seat of Badami in North Karnataka, seen as safer.