http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mysore/Caste-rules/articleshow/6056389.cms
Caste rules M B MARAMKAL, TNN, Jun 17, 2010, 10.20pm IST MYSORE: Karl Marx seems to be right in dubbing religion as `the opium of the people'. For, in India, every election has castes and communities playing vital role in influencing the voters. And the election to the legislative Council from the South Graduates constituency scheduled for Monday is no exception. Despite the candidates addressing the voters as an intellectual lot, they are secretly trying to woo them on the basis of castes. In a voters strength of 89,000, Vokkaligas dominate the list with the numbers crossing 23,000. They are followed by SC and OBC voters with a strength of about 15,000 each. Lingayats account about 13,000 and Brahmins follow them with 10,000 voters. However, in this multi-cornered contest, the real fight seems to be between the BJP, JD(S) and Congress with couple of independents. Though independents may not win the elections, they will definitely eat away into the votes of other party candidates. While the BJP has fielded G Madhusudan, a Brahmin and two-time winner from this seat, the JD(S) has re-nominated sitting legislator K T Srikantegowda, a Vokkaliga, to take on Congress' Javagal Manjunath, a Lingayat. Basically, the constituency is considered a strong hold of BJP and JD(S), but the Congress is working overtime to prove that it has the support of the educated class. An added advantage for Congress candidate Manjunath is the presence of large number of legislators and Parliament members in this constituency, which comprises Mandya, Hassan, Mysore and Chamarjnagar districts. All these leaders are trying to prick the conscience of graduate voters by saying that unlike common voters, graduates have a social responsibility to fulfill and it is their duty to mend the BJP government. On other hand, BJP leaders are trying to garner votes on the basis of Yeddyurappa's performance. At the same time, they never forget to puncture the spirit of JD(S) by saying the JD(S)' victory in 2004 was by `default'. Now, the JD(S) is working overtime to consolidate the support of Vokkaliga voters who outnumber the other community voters individually. Whatever the strategies, the victory of a particular candidate depends on the support of SC and OBC voters who constitute 1/3rd of the total voters.
