Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah received the Social and Educational Survey Report from the State Backward Classes Commission, sparking renewed debate over the state's caste composition.
The report, prepared at a cost of ₹162 crore, was submitted to the Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh in Siddaramaiah's presence, amidst speculation over a possible leadership change in the state.
Commission Chairman Madhusudan R Naik dismissed suggestions that the timing of the submission was connected to political developments within the Congress, saying it was a coincidence.
The survey, conducted in 2015, aimed to map Karnataka's caste composition through one of the largest state-level enumeration efforts in the country.
Leaked figures from the survey indicated that Scheduled Castes accounted for 19.5% of Karnataka's population, Muslims 16%, Lingayats 14%, and Vokkaligas 11%, while Kurubas made up 7%.
The numbers unsettled established political assumptions in Karnataka, where Lingayats and Vokkaligas have historically remained among the state's most influential communities.
Opposition to the report grew steadily, with leaders from both communities arguing that the findings understated their numerical strength and could affect reservation policy, political representation, and allocation of benefits.
The report's submission revives the unresolved political legacy of the 2015 socio-economic and educational survey, which was commissioned during Siddaramaiah's earlier tenure as Chief Minister.
