Lok Sabha Elections: Congress Bid To Woo Vokkaligas Fails As Key Seats Vote BJP-JD(S) Despite Revanna 'Scandal'

In this election, BJP breached Shivakumar's stronghold of Bangalore Rural as Manjunath's victory over Shivakumar's brother, DK Suresh, marked a significant setback for the Congress.

Contrary to Congress expectations, both Kumaraswamy and Manjunath received robust backing from the electorate, each winning by a margin of over 250,000 votes.

Source : Facebook/DKShivakumar

In an unexpected turn of events, the BJP-JD(S) alliance has likely consolidated the influential Vokkaliga vote bank in its favour during the recent Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. Despite the ruling Congress party's efforts to leverage a scandal involving JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, the BJP-JD(S) coalition emerged victorious in key constituencies.

The Vokkaliga community, composed of closely-related castes of warriors and cultivators, holds significant political and economic influence in the Old Mysore region.

Congress leaders had anticipated that the alleged sex video scandal surrounding Revanna would damage the alliance's prospects and shift Vokkaliga support towards the Congress. However, this strategy did not pan out as expected.

The Congress had focused its efforts particularly on Mandya and Bangalore Rural, where Deve Gowda's son H.D. Kumaraswamy and son-in-law C.N. Manjunath were candidates, hoping to sway the Vokkaliga community.

Contrary to Congress expectations, both Kumaraswamy and Manjunath received robust backing from the electorate, each winning by a margin of over 250,000 votes. The Vokkaliga community, which holds significant sway in these regions, remained loyal to the JD(S) candidates.

The shift in Vokkaliga support was also apparent in other constituencies, with the BJP securing victories in Chikkaballapur, Mysuru-Kodagu, Udupi-Chikmagalur, and Tumkur. These wins underscore the decisive role that Vokkaliga votes played in the BJP-JD(S) alliance's success, according to a report on IANS.

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP had a near-clean sweep in Karnataka, except for the Bangalore Rural, Mandya, and Hassan seats. Following the Congress victory in last year's Assembly elections, there were doubts about the BJP's ability to replicate its previous success. Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar, who had emerged as a prominent Vokkaliga leader, was instrumental in shifting community votes to the Congress, leading to its significant win of 135 seats in the Assembly elections.

However, this time around, the BJP managed to breach Shivakumar's stronghold of Bangalore Rural. Manjunath's victory over Shivakumar's brother, DK Suresh, marked a significant setback for the Congress. In 2019, Shivakumar had ensured his brother's victory in this constituency, but the tables have now turned in favor of the BJP-JD(S) alliance.