DKS arrest: BJP may have ruffled a few feathers in Vokkaliga heartland

The arrest of D.K. Shivakumar has sparked off violent protests particularly in the Vokkaliga heartland of old Mysuru and discontent seems to be gathering against the Bharatiya Janata Party. Insiders in the saffron party are also worried of a possible damage this could lead to in the region.

The Congress leader’s arrest is seen as the latest in a string of instances where the BJP has “targeted” the Vokkaliga community — pulling down H.D. Kumaraswamy as the Chief Minister and then the suicide of V.G. Siddhartha, a prominent Vokkaliga entrepreneur who alleged harassment by the Income Tax officials.

String of ‘targets’

“It is very clear that the BJP has misused central agencies to selectively target Mr. Shivakumar. Even though S.M. Krishna joined the BJP, he could not save his son-in-law from harassment from these agencies. They are also trying to decimate the JD(S) first by toppling the government and now by trying to implicate Mr. Kumaraswamy in multiple cases with the CBI. If the BJP thinks they can win the support of the community by decimating the existing leadership, they are mistaken,” said M. Nagaraj, a former secretary of the Vokkaligara Sangha.

He argued that the BJP was also sidelining the community within the party structure, pointing out that the community had only three Ministers as against seven Lingayats. Mr. Nagaraj alleged that the case of Congress was no different.

The BJP, for a combination of reasons — lack of coordination in the Congress-JD(S) alliance and a campaign centred on national security — had made inroads into Old Mysore region in the recent Lok Sabha polls. This pointed to the party gaining the support of a section of the community. “But in just four months since then, the party seems to have earned the ire of the community,” said a Vokkaliga leader from the JD(S).

This has the BJP insiders also worried. A senior MLA from the community said a section in the party is concerned of the damage this could cause and communicated it to the leadership. Evidently alarmed by the caste connotations the arrest was taking, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa has reportedly gagged his partymen from speaking on the issue. In a muted response to the arrest, Mr. Yediyurappa said while the law has taken its course, he would be the happiest if Mr. Shivakumar came out unscathed.

But the BJP leaders seem to be pushing on the narrative of fight against corruption.

Deputy Chief Minister C.N. Ashwath Narayan, also a Vokkaliga, tweeted: “India is on the path of transformation and there is no place for corruption and loot of people’s money in ‘New India’. The government is fighting tooth and nail to bring the corrupt and dishonest to book. Your allegations of political vendetta and gaining sympathy for your misdeeds are not going to work. You will reap what you have sowed!”.