Karnataka caste survey: What's behind Congress high command's call for a recount
'On (the) caste census issue, the Congress party is thinking that whatever the Karnataka government has done on caste census, that has to be agreed in-principle. But there are some apprehensions from some sections of the communities and people about the counting of the caste census,' Venugopal said.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal made the statement after meeting Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the state party chief D.K. Shivakumar in Delhi Tuesday.
Bengaluru: The Congress high command Tuesday said that though it agrees in-principle to Karnataka's 2015 caste survey report, it wants the Siddaramaiah government to carry out a re-enumeration to allay apprehensions of various communities and groups.
He added Karnataka's caste census was completed in 2015, and so the data is old.
'Therefore, we are suggesting to the chief minister, do a re-enumeration process within a stipulated time, like 60 days, 80 days, or whatever the chief minister and the government are thinking,' he said.
This comes a day before Karnataka is scheduled to hold a special cabinet meeting to discuss the findings of the 2015 caste survey report.
The in-principle agreement and decision to re-enumerate appear to balance expectations from warring camps with one side wanting the findings of the report to be made public and the other in favour of scrapping it completely.
Senior ministers like Shivakumar, M.B. Patil, S.S. Mallikarjun, Lakshmi Hebbalkar and others had openly objected to releasing the caste survey data.
Congress veteran and former chief minister Veerappa Moily had earlier said the 2015 data is outdated and a new enumeration exercise was needed.
We had a detailed and fruitful discussion on the prevailing situation in Karnataka. The Honourable Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi ji, Karnataka CM, and KPCC President, along with the In-charge General Secretary, all met together and… pic.twitter.com/1Rw4XJ8dvF
— Congress (@INCIndia) June 10, 2025
Members of dominant groups like the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas were in favour of scrapping the caste census report since they believed the numbers were not a true representation of their population.
The caste survey report was submitted to the state government last year, but it has not been made public, even though some portions have purportedly come out through leaks.
According to the leaked portions, the total population of Vokkaligas is 61.6 lakh, or 10.3 percent of the state's population. Lingayats are at 66.3 lakh, or 11 percent of the state's total population. These numbers are much lower than earlier estimates of Vokkaligas being 14 percent of the population and Lingayats 17 percent, according to the leaked portions.
The two communities have opposed the caste survey report as it would challenge their dominant status which they enjoyed despite the lack of empirical data to support their claims, analysts and observers say.
The purportedly leaked portions of the caste survey data further show that Muslims account for 12.6 percent of the state's population, making them the single largest group in the backward classes list.
According to the government, a total of 5.98 crore people, or 94.17 percent of the state's population, were asked 54 questions on various parameters during the survey.
Analysts and observers say Siddaramaiah has relied on AHINDA (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) to power his politics and his decision to commission a caste enumeration way back in 2015 was seen as a move to challenge the dominant status enjoyed by the Lingayats and Vokkaligas.
The main argument by Lingayats is that it has many sub-sects who may not have given accurate data to enumerators since some of them enjoy benefits of a higher slab of reservation but identify as members of the caste group in society.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
Also Read: Vokkaligas, Lingayats threaten agitation as 2015 Karnataka 'caste census' dents their dominant status
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