The JDS-Congress combine has been able to form government in Karnataka despite performing poorly in the state assembly elections. The alliance has been able to win the trust vote and form a government for 6 months because another trust vote cannot happen in 6 months, but it is now clear that down the line, this government will collapse like a pack of cards. The Congress party has gone for an uneasy alliance to desperately keep the BJP out of power,and have left no stone unturned to keep the JDS happy. Congress sacrificed the CM chair despite being the bigger party in the alliance, and also gave key ministries like finance to junior partner JD(S). Congress sacrificed so many ministries that there is hardly anything left for them to give to their own MLAs. Hence, although some of their leaders have gotten portfolios, many of their senior leaders who served as ministers under Siddaramaiah have been left with nothing.
A large rebellion is underway in the Congress with the help of the Lingayat Mahasabha, because the Mahasabha is unhappy with the fact that Lingayats have been ignored in the distribution of ministries. The rebellion is led by senior Lingayat leader M B Patil, along with other senior leaders like Roshan Baig, Ramalinga Reddy, Dinesh Gundurao, Shamanur Shivashankarappa and Satish Jarkiholi who were left out of the Cabinet. The supporters of M B Patil have planned to call for a bandh in Vijaypura because their beloved leader has been denied a cabinet berth. Linagyats are the most powerful community in the state constituting almost 17 percent of state’s population. A majority of politicians and chief ministers in the state of Karnataka come from this community.
The Lingayat Mahasabha is a powerful organization in the state carrying a huge support base. The Mahasabha runs Lingayat Mutts and educational institutions, and its support is considered crucial to win the elections or run the government smoothly. The Lingayats are the most dominant community in North Karnataka and had virtually ruled the state since independence. Therefore, the sidelining their leaders by the Congress-JD(S) alliance is not going down well within the community. The only other community comparable to the Lingayats are the Vokkaligas who got a good deal from this government, as Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and many other powerful ministers like DK Sivakumar come from this community. The fact that Vokkaligas got a disproportionate share of power in this government did not go well with Lingayat community. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of the State G Parameshwara suggested that a Lingyayat should be made the President of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) to pacify the community. However, this did not go well with Dinesh Gundu Rao, a prominent Brahmin leader from Bangalore who was earlier seen as the candidate for the PCC Chief post.
Congress leaders like DK Shivakumar and R V Deshpande have reached out to rebelling leaders, offering that those left out of the ministry would be appointed as chairpersons of boards and the post would be elevated to that of Cabinet rank, but they have been unable to pacify these leaders. The leadership also doesn’t seem too keen considering they have bought themselves six months time, but then it looks like 6 months is all they will get. The rebellion has led to a delay in the allocation of ministries for which Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy had to take a final call.
