Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s decision to accord a separate religion status to Lingayats has stirred a hornet’s nest in poll bound Karnataka. While the Congress, which had turned down the request for according a separate religion tag for the Lingayats way back in 2013 has suddenly made an U-Turn, the BJP has jumped in the political pulpit accusing the Congress of playing the divisive card. With Lingayats constituting 17% of Karnataka’s electorate, neither Amit Shah nor Rahul Gandhi is willing to leave anything to chance.