Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018: Congress loses Scheduled Caste vote bank, local leaders irked

In Lingasugur's Madiga Keri, also known as Ambedkar Colony, the number of toilets for the smattering of over 100 houses stands at zero. The residents of the area, that lies within ward no 1, cross the road outside the Colony to relieve themselves in the bushes.

Sheela, a 25-year-old school teacher, is one of the few who has finished college. "Most of the children drop out, and the government school in the ward usually has no space for the children who go to class," she says. Roads, education, electricity are all in short supply in the colony.

In the run up to Karnataka's high-wire Assembly elections, the three main contenders -- the BJP, Congress and the JD (S) -- have tried every rule in the book to woo the dominant caste groups, specially the Lingayats, the Veerashaivas and the Vokkaligas. But the Madigas, a marginalised Scheduled Caste community, that have for years suffered from discrimination and untouchability and have been relegated to jobs like leather-making and scavenging, have barely found any takers. Even with the Congress, a party in which the community has traditionally voted for, has given the community a miss, preferring candidats from the upwardly-mobile Bhovi community.

In Raichur's Congress office, the anger is palpable even with the party's own cadre. Pamayya Murari, a member of the party's District Executive Committee, quotes Ambedkar, "He said that, 'Political power is the most tricky thing; it opens all the doors.' But if the political power does not percolate to the most marginalised, how they move up the social ladder," he says. In the last elections, Murari's nomination was sidelined for another candidate from the Bhovi community. He says that the party quoted an internal survey to choose the other candidate.

In the state, over 101 sub-castes are categorised as Scheduled Caste. Of the state's 8,563,930 SCs, Madiga make up to 45.7 per cent of the SC population at 1,305,976. 36 of Karnataka's 224 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste. This year, of the 42 seats in the six districts of Hyderabad-Karnataka region, the Congress has fielded only two Madiga candidates -- in Gulbarga Rural and Aurad. In all, the party has handed out nine tickets to the community across the entire state.

Dalit Sangha Samiti's Hanumantappa Kunnukellur says that after the Justice AJ Sadashiva Report on inner reservation, the Congress government in the state never implemented the report, and also never tabled it. "This report came up after 23 years of struggle and despite stating an intent to implement it, they did nothing. Government schemes are sometimes lapsed and even then they are not given to us. Most of the benefits go to the financially-sound communities," he says.

Filmmaker Deepa Dhanraj, who has filed the community across the state, says that the assertion by the community's political leaders is a good sign. "To think that the Dalit vote is reserved for a party and to treat the community as a vote bank is infantalising, patriarchal and robs them of their political agency," she says.

The entry of Dalit leader, Bahujan Samaj Party's Mayawati in the fray as she aligns with the JD (S) has also altered equations. A Madiga leader, not wanting to be named, said, "Behenji is also here this year; I hope the Congress can see the alternative in front of us," the leader said.

IN NUMBERS

• Over 101 sub-castes are categorised as Scheduled Caste in Karnataka.
   
• 36 of the 224 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Caste.