Caste your vote or vote your caste
Poll politics and caste are inseparable in India. For those who came late, caste is a social group whose membership is determined by birth. Here is a backgrounder to the caste system in Karnataka. Our friends culled out these figures before the last polls. These are the statitistics provided by various state appointed committees. As they say, facts are sacred. Opinions are free. Caste percentage Nagana gowda Havanur Venkat swamy Chinnappa reddy 1. Lingayat 15.57 14.64 16.92 15.34 2. Vokkaliga 12.98 11.98 11.68 10.81 3. Kuruba 04.08 06.77 06.92 06.27 4. Eediga 02.40 02.25 02.45 02.31 5. Brahmin 04.28 04.23 03.81 03.45 6. Maratha 04.08