View source for Karnataka: caste, mutts and elections

==A 2018 estimate==
'''Note: The last Census of India that enumerated caste was conducted in 1931. All ‘caste censuses’ after that (including the one cited below) have been unofficial and, at best, sample surveys. ''' 


[https://www.news18.com/news/politics/dalits-muslims-outnumber-lingayats-and-vokkaligas-in-karnataka-caste-census-stumps-siddaramaiah-govt-1689531.html   D P Satish | Dalits, Muslims Outnumber Lingayats and Vokkaligas in Karnataka? ‘Caste Census’ Stumps Siddaramaiah Govt |March 15, 2018 | News18]



According to a ‘caste census’, accessed by News18, 

Dalits form 19.5% of the state’s population

Tribals 5%

Muslims 16%

Kurubas 7%

Rest of the OBCs 16%

Lingayats 14%

Vokkaligas 11%

Brahmins 3%

Christians 3%

Buddhists and Jains together 2%

and the others account for 4%. 


Karnataka’s total population is around 6 crore. Of them, 4.90 crore are registered voters.

The census, named Socio-Economic Survey, has been completed and its findings are in the “safe custody” of the government. Several groups had opposed the ‘caste census’, claiming that the state government had no right to conduct such an exercise, following which it was renamed.

Lingayats and Vokkaligas: Since Independence, these two major castes have been controlling the levers of power, claiming to be the ‘top communities’ in the state. The two castes have always accounted for 50% of the MP and MLA seats from the state, irrespective of the party in power. The Lingayats even want to be recognised as a separate religion, a demand backed by the Siddaramaiah government.

Lingayats and Vokkaligas, Alarmed by the findings, both the castes have joined hands to dismiss the findings as “fabricated to suit the political interests of Siddaramaiah government”.

Speaking to News18, national secretary of Veerashaiva-Lingayat Mahasabha HM Renuka Prasanna there said is “no way” they could accept the findings of the ‘caste census’. “According to Justice Chinnappa Reddy Commission, our population was 69 lakh in 1980s. We formed 16.92% of the total population. The Havanur Commission claims it was 17.23%. How can our population be just 14% after 30 years? If our population has decreased, then the state’s total population should also have decreased proportionately. But that is not the case. We have conducted our own caste census and our population stands at 1.20 crore. We make up around 20% of the total population,” he said.

The Vokkaligas are of the same opinion. A senior Vokkaliga minister in the government told News18 that the community accounts for 16% of the population, not 11%. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has refused to confirm the findings, saying nobody has the exact caste figures and that these were “just rumours”.