Karnataka elections: Heat and dust settle, over to voter

Bengaluru: The dust and grime and cacophony of microphones ebbed on Thursday but the most hostile effort by BJP president Amit Shah, Congress president Rahul Gandhi and other leaders to win the race to power on May 12 with charges and counter flying back and forth on corruption, communalism, voter ID cards, even foreign origin of UPA Chairperson Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to sway voters could well continue till the eleventh hour.

On Thursday, Mr Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of attacking him as he perceived him as "threat" by announcement in public of his prime ministerial ambition. "This election is not about Rahul. I have now learnt how to deal with the Prime Minister. When he can't respond, he distracts. We will not let him distract and create anger," retorted Mr Gandhi even as he lambasted Mr Modi on his silence over Reddy brothers and their relatives securing tickets despite their involvement in the mega-buck illegal mining scam, attack on Dalits and cases of rape in Uttar Pradesh. Mr Modi had criticized Mr Gandhi for speaking about his ambition to occupy the top position next year and dealt with Mrs Gandhi's Italian origin.

In Badami, where a cliff-hanger contest between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former minister and MP B Sriramulu is on the cards, Mr Shah charged Congress leaders with adopting desperate methods like hoarding voter ID cards to win the elections. "It tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election. 

The way bogus voter cards were made in a flat... the way counterfoils of forms for inclusion of voters were found, the way colour printers and computers were found there, it tells us how desperately the Congress wants to win the election," the BJP president said, adding "People are behind the BJP in a big way and such attempts will be rendered useless.

Without any doubt, defeat of Congress is written large on the wall. There is no question of hung assembly....We are far ahead of the halfway mark. As per the feedback I have gathered from my leaders and party workers, we are winning more than 130 seats and there is question of seeking support from anyone to form government," he added.

Though development remained at top of the political discourse, it was overshadowed by a slanging match between the two parties over corruption.
The PM and Amit Shah also raised the killing of RSS and BJP workers by pro-minority outfits and also former Congress president Sonia's Gandhi's foreign origins. Not to be left behind, Congress  president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday hit back saying, "my mother 'is more Indian than many, many Indians I have seen." 

Many a phrase was coined in the course of the campaign -'seedha rupaiah government' (by Mr Modi) '10% commission government' (again by Mr Modi), '90% commission government' (by the CM to describe the Modi government) and Ali Baba and 40 Chor (by Rahul to describe the  Reddy brothers and other BJP politicians).