Bengaluru: All for Ahinda, what about the others?

Bengaluru: The Ahinda vote at the cost of the support of major communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas? That’s where the love of Chief Minster Siddaramaiah for Ahinda communities like minorities, backward classes and Dalits has landed the ruling party, fear many Congress leaders.

They are worried over a visible re-grouping of non-Ahinda communities against the Congress which could benefit right wing parties like BJP.

"Yes, it's a dangerous trend. The CM does not seem to have realised the impact his pro-Ahinda statements may have on the 2018 Assembly polls. Be it the Madikeri incident over the celebration of Tipu Jayanti or the brutal murder of a BJP worker in Mysuru, the saffron party is leaving no stone unturned to use it as a tool for its resurgence in the undivided Mysuru districts-the bastion of the Congress  all these years", observed a former Lok Sabha member.

When the Congress has been championing the cause of Dalits, backward classes and minorities since its inception, was there any need for Mr Siddaramaiah to make statements that he wasn't ashamed to be called an Ahinda CM? By doing this, Mr Siddaramaiah is indirectly helping the lotus bloom in Congress fortresses.

“Already, BJP has managed to win a sizeable number of seats in both Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts and it may not be surprising if it improves its tally in the coming Assembly polls", a former minister from the OBC bloc noted.

"Be it the prime minister or chief minister, it is not good to identify with the caste or community they belong to. Mr Siddaramaiah, instead of saying he is an Ahinda CM, should have said he believes in socialism but is devoted to the well-being of everyone. People belonging to other communities feel alienated in the current situation and may support a party which they think, will safeguard their interests. Fortunately, the polarisation of non-Ahinda communities has not happened to a large extent in Mysuru, known as a the most tolerant city in the state", remarked Prof Muzzafar H. Assadi, chairman and professor, Department of Political Science, University of Mysuru.

He said token measures like celebrating the birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan were not going to help uplift Muslims. The real issues are poverty, better education, employment and the identity crisis. According to statistics, only 2 per cent Muslims have availed bank loans which speaks a lot of of their standard of living.

The BJP will not leave any issue alone which helps them fetch votes and this has been proved in the recent Mysuru incident where leaders like Lok Sabha MP Pratap Simha and State BJP spokesperson C.T. Ravi descended on the city to take advantage of the situation.

Muslims feel insecure whenever BJP comes to power. Likewise, upper castes feel alienated when an ‘Ahinda government’ rules the state, Prof Assadi said.

A Congress leader from Mysuru said the government had mishandled the BJP worker murder issue which has helped the saffron party.

The BJP will build on this incident and paint the Siddaramaiah government anti-Hindu. "We are giving issues on a platter to BJP. First it was Madikeri incident and now it is Mysuru incident," he said.