Bengaluru: Despite his unabashed partiality for the Ahinda cause, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah could pander to the two prominent communities of the state, the Lingayats and Vokkaligas by announcing sops for their religious institutions in the state Budget on Wednesday.
This will be a marked departure from the past three years , which have seen him offer sops and financial assistance to maths and religious institutions run by the other back castes (OBCs), scheduled castes and tribes and Muslims, while largely ignoring the two dominant communities.
The Chief Minister has reportedly decided to change tack this year based on feedback from his senior ministers, who believe he needs to woo the two communities to help the party win their votes in the coming assembly polls. Going by sources in the government, the funds will be announced ostensibly to develop tourism around the maths, using a strategy similar to the one adopted by former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa to please the communities when in office.
But while wooing the Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Mr Siddaramaiah is unlikely to forget his Ahinda cause. The Budget could see him announce free power supply for scheduled caste and tribe farmers and offer other sops the OBCs and minorities, say sources.
While it has been suggested that he should announce the setting up of subsidised canteens on the lines of the Amma canteens in Tamil Nadu, it is believed he may give this a miss in the Budget considering the financial implications.
He could, however, opt to expedite the process of constructing 4 lakh new houses in constituencies that are crucial for the Congress in the elections, sources add.
