More than a lakh members of the Panchamasali Lingayat community, an upper caste Lingayat group in Karnataka that makes up nearly 18% of the state's population, staged a massive protest demonstration today from Belagavi's iconic Suvarna Soudha, calling for reservations in government jobs and education.

The protest is being led by BJP MLA Basanagouda Patil, who has been outspoken in his criticism of senior party figures BS Yediyurappa and BS Bommai.

Despite making up a bigger portion of the Lingayat community 60% of them Panchamasali Lingayats have complained that they have not received the necessary political representation. In the Kittur Karnataka region, formerly known as the Mumbai-Karnataka region and made up of approximately 7 districts, they have the ability to affect more than 100 seats.