Another Election Show: The ABC of caste politics – it’s not just about Lingayats
Can BJP’s Hindutva politics counter caste dynamics in Karnataka?
-NaN:NaN:NaN
For a better listening experience, download the Newslaundry app
Support Independent Media
The media must be free and fair, uninfluenced by corporate or state interests. That's why you, the public, need to pay to keep news free.
ContributeJournalist and author Sugata Srinivasaraju sits down with Manisha Pande and Atul Chaurasia to discuss caste politics in Karnataka. Sugata gives a brief history of two dominant communities – Vokkaligas and Lingayats – and how they became important in the state’s electoral politics. Sugata says it is a myth that Lingayats and Vokkaligas determine politics in India, perpetrated by the Lingayats themselves.
He explains why this election is all about subcastes. He says the Panchamasalis Lingayats and the most oppressed segment of Dalit voters may continue to support the BJP, and so this election is not over yet. The three also discuss what role the BJP’s Hindutva politics will play in countering caste dynamics, and why getting a Lingayat CM to play the Hindutva card didn’t work for the party.
Watch.
Power NL-TNM Election Fund
General elections are around the corner, and Newslaundry and The News Minute have ambitious plans together to focus on the issues that really matter to the voter. From political funding to battleground states, media coverage to 10 years of Modi, choose a project you would like to support and power our journalism.
Ground reportage is central to public interest journalism. Only readers like you can make it possible. Will you?