BJP hopes to reap harvest by hiking quota for two populous communities, Lingayats and Vokkaligas

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru:The State government led by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has made a bold move to create two separate categories for the Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities and hiked the quota for them. While the move is being hailed by some as a step towards empowering these communities, others have criticised it as a political move aimed at retaining the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) traditional vote bank.

One of the key questions being asked is whether this move will help the BJP retain its traditional vote bank of Lingayat/ Vokkaliga voters while at the same time planning to put its hand in the vote bank of the Vokkaliga community, which is the deciding factor in South Karnataka. The Lingayat community has traditionally been the BJP vote bank, and the party has always sought to ensure that it supports it in the elections.

Whereas the Vokkaligas have been traditionally backing the Congress Party and Janata Dal (Secular), but have changed now to support the saffron party. The government's decision to hike the quota for these communities has been welcomed by some Lingayat and Vokkaliga leaders, who see it as a step towards empowering their communities.

However, there are also concerns that this move could lead to resentment among other communities who feel left out. Another major development is the government's decision to cancel the 4 per cent reservation for minority Muslims.

This move has been criticised by the Congress and Janata DalSecular (JDS) parties, who see it as an attempt to target the Muslim community, which has traditionally supported these parties. The BJP, on the other hand, has defended the move, arguing that it is not aimed at targeting any specific community.