The ageing Karnataka chief minister, B S Yediyurappa, is facing twin challenges. First, he is desperate to retain the political leadership of the BJP even as the party’s high command seeks to replace him, considering that he celebrated his 78th birthday last month.

More alarming for him, though, is the sudden challenge to his position as the undisputed leader of the Lingayat community. This came in the form of a major rally in Bengaluru last month by the Panchamasali Lingayats, a sub-sect of the dominant community, whose support he had banked upon, and enjoyed, for over two decades.

This sub-sect which accounts for a sizeable proportion of the over 1.2 crore Lingayats in the state, has now gone on the offensive demanding better reservation benefits under the “more backward” classification of 2A. This is against what is currently available to them under category 3B and defined as relatively more backward. The inclusion will entitle them to 15 per cent reservation in government jobs and education, or so they believe.

Making matters worse for Yediyurappa, the rally was led by two powerful seers of the sub-sect in Vachanand swami and Mrutyanjaya swami. Secondly, former union minister and BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, a bitter critic of the chief minister, is one of the prime movers of the agitation.

The immediate grouse is that the sub-sect has been deliberately sidelined over the years. This, goes the refrain, is evidenced by the fact that almost seven Lingayat chief ministers in the state hailed from the community’s Banajiga community, including Yediyurappa.

This is not all. At least six more communities are demanding a change in the reservation categories or higher quotas. Adding to Yeddiyurappa’s woes, several cabinet ministers have participated in the various protests and rallies that were held in this connection recently, to promote their communities’ cause. Karnataka provides 15 per cent reservation for SCs, three per cent for STs and 32 per cent for other backward classes (OBC), aggregating to 50 per cent.

Importantly, two ministers from the Panchamshali Lingayat sect also participated in the rally last week, though later they urged their community leaders against putting pressure on the government. In fact, one of the ministers even charged that the seers and the agitators were being patronised by the opposition, evident, they said, from the fact that the protesting swamis were being influenced by senior Congressman Vijayanand Kashappanavar. Predictably, this charge left the seers fuming, making them more determined to pursue their demand.

The government, on its part, feels that it cannot succumb to such pressures. This is because the issues concerned have serious implications, going by a host of Supreme Court rulings which make it difficult to take a unilateral decision, according to a section of legal experts.

The argument, however, cannot undermine the clamour for quotas even if it comes at a time when government jobs are virtually drying up. Besides, with more and more privatisation, sectors such as education too are caught in a tricky situation on matters of reservation.

To that extent , the series of protests and agitations by different communities, be it the Panchamasali Lingayats, Vokkaliggas, Kurubas, Ganis and the Valmiki Nayaks, for that matter, have together put the Chief Minister on a sticky wicket. And, he would need all his experience, political and otherwise, to come out unscathed.

More so, his supporters claim, the spate of rallies are a clear indication that they are a ploy to isolate the chief minister politically, what with the protests being spearheaded by some of his ministers, each seeking prominence for his community and caste.

In fact, angry well-wishers do not even rule out the possibility of these rallies being prompted by a section of the ruling dispensation which wants the chief minister out. The objective, they argue, is to undermine his position within his community besides forcing him to vacate the top post.

A a senior minister told The Statesman that these competing demands also reflected the power struggle within the BJP. This is largely because many of Yediyurappa’s ambitious ministers realise that the party’s central leadership is seeking a replacement for the ageing incumbent.

In the immediate term though, the powerful Lingayat leader may manage to weather the storm as the BJP leadership is busy with elections in several important states.

For now though, last month’s massive rally by the aggressive Panchamsalis coupled with the growing influence of Yatnal, has definitely dented Yediyurappa’s image as the undisputed leader of the Lingayat community and the BJP in the state.

This, perhaps, also explains why the state cabinet quickly decided last week to set up a three-member committee, under a retired High Court judge, to examine the critical issues raised by the communities seeking specific classification of backwardness, not to mention an increase in their quotas.

Whether this will convince the Panchamshalis, for one, remains to be seen as the seers in focus have sought an immediate timeline within which they want the government to accept their demand.

Yediyurappa, on his part, cannot escape blame for his present problems. These started with the government’s decision to form the Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation, if only to consolidate his position further within the community. This set the cat among the pigeons as members of the Vokkaliga, Brahmin and Reddy communities immediately sought similar bodies for their own communities.

Knowing the reputation of the wily chief minister, however, only the naïve would assume that he is unaware of the developments in Delhi, including the party’s high command’s thinking. Or, that he would give up without a fight. While he is, predictably, keeping his cards close to his chest, it would be interesting to see how he tackles the pressure.

For now though, he would be happy if the party high command takes more interest in reining in his bete noire, Yatnal, especially as the BJP MLA has suddenly become an important leader of the Panchamshali Lingayats. Equally significant is the fact that Yatnal wears his ambition of becoming the chief minister, on his sleeve.

The writer is The Statesman’s Special Representative in Bengaluru