Some Lingayat leaders have left for Bengaluru to meet senior Congress leaders to demand ticket for the byelection to the Bidar Assembly constituency for a fellow Lingayat.
They claim they have a right to claim nomination from the grand old party as they wield considerable clout in the constituency. They are expected to meet Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara and other leaders.
“We form about 25 per cent of the population. We can’t be neglected,” maintains Gundappa Vakil, former MLA. “We run most of the cooperative societies, education institutions, and other important organisations that have an influence on the society. Every candidate needs our support and no party can neglect us,” he said. Mr. Vakil is among the important claimants of the party nomination. He said while other taluks had regularly backed Lingayat leaders, only two Lingayats had become MLAs from Bidar since 1952.
Anand Devappa, former president of the district Youth Congress committee, says it is time young leaders from the Lingayat community are given a chance. There are other contenders like senior leader Madiwalappa Karbari and Pradeep Kushnoor.
