Lingayat Leadership and Political Culture in Karnataka: An Empirical Study of Belagavi District

Abstract: Since independence, Lingayat leadership has been instrumental in most political culture and power structure in Karnataka. The Lingayat community, being one of the most powerful social groups in the state, has given birth to a number of great political leaders who have influenced the governance, electoral politics and the public policy. This article is empirical research on the issue of Lingayat leadership in political culture development in Karnataka with particular focus on Belagavi district. Primary data is used in the study as the researcher uses a structured questionnaire in which 150 respondents were sampled via stratified random sampling. It looks into the perception of Lingayat leadership by the people, satisfaction with the leadership, voting patterns and behavior. The analysis has also been supported by secondary sources like books, journals, election reports and government documents. The results show that there is a slow change to development-oriented and issue-based voting behavior as opposed to caste-based politics, but the caste identity still has a critical impact on political decisions. The study also shows an increase in the level of public expectations which are based on transparency, accountability and performance of governance. These tendencies are an indicator of a changing political culture that is in line with the national vision of Viksit Bharat 2047 that stipulates inclusive development, democratic participation, and citizen-centered governance. The paper concludes that in as much as the Lingayat leadership is still prominent, the future of political culture in Karnataka is the promotion of inclusive leadership and governance and development above narrow identity politics.