Bengaluru: With the Assembly elections round the corner, the State BJP Government, in a bid to reap rich harvest in the polls, is said to be considering reservation hike for Vokkaligas and bring Panchamasali Lingayat community under 2a category, which the community has been demanding for long.

The Government is said to be planning to make an announcement in this regard soon after Sankranti, which falls next month. Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Commission for Backward Classes, headed by Jayaprakash Hegde, is likely to submit its report on reservation quota in the first week of January.

Based on this report, the Government is likely to announce reservation hike for Vokkaligas from the current 4 percent to 8 or 10 percent and to bring Panchamasali Lingayat community under 2a reservation category, after taking approval of the State Legislature during the Budget session.

Apparently following the footsteps of Prime Minister Modi, who has announced 10 percent reservation quota for EWS (Economically Weaker Sections) in Central Government jobs and education, Bommai too has planned to benefit the two largely agricultural communities.

It may be recalled that the Government, just a couple of months ago, had hiked the reservation for SC from 15 to 17 percent and for ST, from 3 to 7 percent. Now, with the reservation hike for Vokkaligas and 2a category for Panchamasali Lingayats, the ruling BJP hopes that this will boost the electoral prospects of the party in the forthcoming Assembly polls.