Can Allum win Lingayat votes for Congress?

Ballari: The Congress, which has chosen to field former KPPC chief Allum Veerabhadrappa in the election to the state legislative council, appears to be preparing to check the influence of state BJP chief, B S Yeddyurappa among the Lingayats in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region with his help .

"Though, Mr Veerabhadrappa is not as popular in his  community as  Mr Yeddyurappa, the Congress wants to send a message to the Lingayats  that it has given it its due share," said a Congress leader.

Although the senior Congress leader did not figure in the list finalised by KPCC chief,  Dr G Parameshwar and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, his name was reportedly cleared by the party high command on the recommendation of the party's leader in Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, who is believed to be keen on winning over the Lingayats, especially in Hyderabad-Karnataka.

This is second time in the recent past that Mr Kharge's word has prevailed over that of Mr Siddaramaiah and Dr Parameshwar  in matters pertaining to the H-K region. Not too long ago he  made sure his loyalist , K C Kondaiah was given the Ballari ticket to contest the elections to the legislative council from the local bodies. He has come as a godsend for Mr Veerabhadra, who could now return to Vidhana Soudha after 12 years.

A Nehru-Indira Gandhi loyalist,  he had sought party tickets to contest  previous elections in the state, but was denied every time. But the appointment of  Lingayat strongman , Yeddyurappa as  state BJP chief , appears to have given him a second chance to prove his worth, point out party insiders.