Mysuru: Upset at the dwindling number of Veerashaiva-Lingayats getting elected to the Karnataka Assembly in recent times, particularly from the districts of Mysuru Revenue division, the community leaders held a meeting recently and unanimously decided to demand tickets for community members where they are more in number.
The meeting took place at Jaganmohan Palace under the banner of Veerashaiva-Lingayat Hitharakshana Vedike. Addressing the meeting, Vedike Honorary President and former MLA H.C. Basavaraj said a strong message must be sent to all political parties by holding a mega convention.
Stressing the need to show the strength of the community, he said Mysuru division has more than 13 lakh Veerashaiva-Lingayat population. “The three major political parties in the State — Congress, BJP and JD(S) — must field candidates based on the community population in Lok Sabha, Assembly and local body elections. If any party refuses to field community candidates, community members must not support such a party”. Basavaraj said.
Alleging that political parties have been neglecting the community, the former MLA urged the political parties to issue ‘B’ forms to community candidates where there are a sizeable number of Veerashaiva-Lingayat voters.
Vedike President C.P. Thammanna called for organising the community in such Assembly segments where there is a sizeable population of Veerashaiva-Lingayats. Calling upon the community members to condemn the efforts of those trying to divide them, he emphasised on the need to speak in a loud and clear voice that Veerashaivas and Lingayats were one and the same.
Vedike Gen. Secretary K.P. Mahadevaswamy maintained that the community had lost ground because of internal squabbles.
This post was published on March 17, 2018 6:27 pm