A year ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections, the exercise to revise school textbooks appears to have pushed the ruling BJP into an uncomfortable spot, after complaints were raised that cultural and religious icons of specific castes were being “insulted” in revised lessons. The party is feeling the heat particularly in the Old Mysore region, where the land-owning Vokkaligas dominate the political narrative, after the opposition Congress and JD(S) upped the ante on this issue. The BJP’s perceived gain after its efforts at polarisation through the hijab, halal and azaan issues seems to have been overtaken by the controversy over the “insults” to Vokkaliga icon Nadaprabhu Kempegowda, the founder of Bengaluru, and Jnanpith award-winning writer Kuvempu.
The timing of the controversy has put the BJP on the back foot as it has been attempting to make inroads into the Vokkaliga heartland in recent times. The party, which relies on Lingayat support in north Karnataka and is confident in polarised coastal Karnataka, realises that it is hard to secure a majority in the 224-member House without considerable gains in the Old Mysore region. The Vokkaligas constitute about 12% of the State population, as per the leaked caste Census. They are said to be electorally significant in87 Assembly constituencies across 11 districts in Old Mysore region.
The BJP won the bypoll at K.R. Pet in Mandya district in 2019 and hoped to replicate this success in at least a few more Vokkaliga-dominated constituencies in the next Assembly elections. While the urban-based Vokkaliga leaders of the BJP have made no dent in the hinterland so far, the party is also said to be toying with the idea of having a Vokkaliga as the State president though there are other caste interests to contend with. Party insiders believe that the “unwanted controversy” over textbooks has hindered the party’s plans in the region.
