Karnataka chief-minister Siddaramaiah has commenced a long campaign 'yatra' which would take him across the entire State with an apparent eye on cutting down the BJP's vote-share among the dominant Lingayat community.

Significantly enough, the campaign for next May's Assembly elections has commenced from Basavakalyan, which has a huge chunk of population of Lingayata community. The Congress is determined to retain power while the BJP is keen in upsetting the Congress' apple-cart during the Assembly polls due to be held in May next year.

Taking a lead, Siddaramaiah commenced his election campaign on Wednesday, listing the welfare schemes introduced and populist measures taken by the Congress Govt. for the people's welfare. Political observers have often pointed out that the BJP`s success in Karnataka is linked to its huge vote share among the Lingayat community, which is a dominant community across all the Districts in the State.

It is also notable that the former BJP chief-ministers Yediyurappa and Jagdish Shettar belong to this community. With an apparent eye on the community's votes, the chief-minister commenced his campaign 'yatra' from Basavakalyan in Bidar District, considered a 'holy land' of the Lingayat community. He also took to his Twitter account to formally place his appeal before the people.

"My appeal to the citizens of Karnataka: As divisive forces attempt to disrupt our social harmony, let us come together to safeguard the very idea of Karnataka. The Govt. and the people of the state will not tolerate any attempt to tamper with our secular, inclusive heritage," his Twitter appeal said.