BJP leaders raise 'Lingayat CM' pitch to counter Congress narrative

News Network

April 20, 2023

Lingayat leaders of the BJP have raised the pitch for unleashing the "Lingayat CM" campaign in poll-bound Karnataka to counter the Congress' narrative to brand the ruling party as "anti-Lingayat".

The politically influential Lingayat community forms about 17 per cent of the state's population, mostly in northern parts of the state which the BJP counts as its strong vote-base. Senior Lingayat leaders Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi quit the BJP over denial of ticket to contest in the May 10 Assembly elections and joined the Congress.

The ruling party has been on a damage control mode since then with the Congress accusing it of doing "injustice" to Lingayats and being "anti-Lingayat".

Lingayat leaders from the BJP met at the residence of Karnataka BJP strongman and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Wednesday evening, where there were suggestions for countering the Congress narrative by projecting that the next CM would be from the community in the event of the party coming to power. On Thursday, responding to questions from reporters, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai confirmed that the meeting decided to strongly counter the "misinformation" being spread by the Congress on "some issues."

"There were some suggestions (on 'Lingayat-CM). Dharmendra Pradhan (the Union Minister who is the Karnataka election in-charge of the BJP) was also there. He (Pradhan) said he would convey our feelings (on the need for Lingayat-CM) to the high-command". When a reporter again asked about the Congress narrative branding the BJP as "anti-Lingayats", the Chief Minister sought to counter him: "You want to keep the issue alive?" In the last 50 years since 1967, the Congress has not made a Lingayat a Chief Minister except for the nine-month tenure of Veerendra Patil, Bommai said.

"Don't ask this question again," he told the reporter. There were several instances of how the Congress treated senior Lingayat leaders, the Chief Minister said, adding that people would not forget how the Congress tried to break the community (demanding a separate religious status to the community) to create a "vote bank" five years ago. "There is respect, honour and opportunity for all in the BJP," Bommai said and alleged that the Congress "cheated" Dalits, Lingayats and Backward Classes.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

Comments