Play up ‘Lingayat CM’ card, Amit Shah advises state BJP leaders

BENGALURU: With the Lingayat vote factor hogging all the attention, Union Home Minister Amit Shah is learnt to have advised the state leaders to play up the ‘Lingayat CM’ card to blunt the attack by the Opposition Congress.

Shah, who held a meeting with party general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Arun Singh, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, election co-incharge K Annamalai and other leaders not to let the Congress capitalise on the Lingayat issue. He also said the party leaders should highlight the contributions of the party to the community, especially in North Karnataka.

With the heat of election rising, the Congress is trying hard to woo Lingayat voters saying that the BJP had neglected them. The party has also claimed that there is an exodus of leaders, especially Lingayat leaders, from the BJP to other parties including the Congress.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai at the meeting.

Amit Shah has advised the state leaders to highlight that the BJP has contributed more for Lingayats than the Congress and has stood with the community, made two of them as CMs, has given the highest number of tickets to Lingayats and made more Lingayats as ministers.

He also told them to highlight that the BJP has accorded more importance to Lingayat leaders whereas the Congress has not made a single Lingayat leader as CM and had treated Veerendra Patil with utmost disrespect by taking away the position from him in just nine months. Laxman Savadi and Jagadish Shettar betrayed the party despite all positions being given to them and despite being offered higher posts, he pointed out and asked the state leaders to drive home these issues among the voters.