Shankar Bidari

Shankar Bidari, a former Director General of Police (DGP) in Karnataka, currently heads the All India Veerashaiva Lingayat Mahasabha, an influential organization representing the interests of the Lingayat community. He has recently been in the news for rejecting the findings of a leaked caste census report, which he claims misrepresents the Lingayat population, asserting that they actually constitute about 35% of Karnataka's population. Bidari's stance highlights the ongoing tensions regarding caste representation and reservation policies in the state.