Mangaluru: The unity mantra of the Congress along with the strong anti-incumbency and failure of BJP leaders in the state seems to have overthrown BJP and reinstated the Congress in the power in Karnataka after a gap of five years.
This is one of the major defeats of the BJP in recent years. Though the BJP was reduced to 40 seats in the 2013 election, it happened in the backdrop of the Lingayat leader BS Yediyurappa quitting the BJP to form his KJP and Sriramulu left to form his BSRC. In 2013, the BJP did not have a powerful Modi government in the Centre to draw support.
This time, however, the BJP suffered one of its miserable defeats in spite of sustained campaign by the popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi government and the presence of Yediyurappa and Sriramulu in the party.
Though there are various factors for the defeat, the strong ones seem to be the strong anti-incumbency, the failure of the BJP leadership in the state and the unity mantra of the Congress.
Unity:
The competition between KPCC chief DK Shivakumar and former CM Siddaramaiah to get into the CM chair was always seen as a major drawback of the Congress. It was thought that this would lead to a divide in the party. However, the Central leadership led by Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge succeeded in patching up this gap, especially in the last few months after the election was declared.
In every event he attended Rahul ensured that the unity of the party was displayed. Both Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah were seen campaigning together even in district-level yatras. Though these leaders expressed their wish to become CM when the media questioned them, there were no serious statements or plots against each other within the party. This is said to have helped the Congress a lot.
Candidate selection:
Though candidate selection had some trouble in a few constituencies, by and large, it went on smoothly. The first two lists had hardly any problem clearly indicating that the Congress was united in these segments. Even Congress leaders knew that infighting would cost them dearly and help the BJP. Thus, in the last few months, the Congress displayed unity not only at the state level but also in districts.
Guarantee Card:
The Guarantee Card too seems to have helped the party. The five promises of the party -- Griha Lakshmi, Griha Jyoti, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi, and free travel for women in government buses -- have helped the party, especially in the rural areas as it would ease the financial burden of the people to a great extent. However, the challenge before the Congress is on its implementation of these promises as it has to chalk out a proper plan to ensure they reach the people.
Anti-Incumbency:
The BJP faced one of the worst ever anti-incumbency in recent years. While BJP leaders failed to reach out to the people, the 40 percent commission allegation was one of the serious allegations against the BJP hurled by the Congress. The issue was frequently repeated in every campaign by all the leaders, especially Rahul Gandhi. This had a great impact on the people who had voted to power BJP thinking it to be a party with a clean image.
“Many leaders who were part of the government failed to understand the pulse of the people. Though there were many schemes, most of them were from the Centre. State BJP leaders were more dependent on Modi and the central government as they felt it would help them in image building. They frequently spoke about the central schemes and the central aid. Also, the large gap between the people and the leaders alienated the people,” a leader said.
Instead of boosting their program, the state leaders continued to chant the ‘double engine’ mantra. While they were hopeful of the state engine getting a boost from the Delhi Engine, many people felt that the state engine was in reality being dragged by the Central engine.
The state leaders hoped that the Modi magic would help the party in this election but failed. While many people still believe Modi is the best leader in the Centre, they seem to be unhappy with the weak leadership in the state and thus did not support the BJP.
After Yediyurappa’s exit from electoral politics, the BJP also failed to have a face as its state leader. While Bommai continued as the CM, the state BJP president and Chief Minister failed to reach out to the people.
Lingayats and quota
Interestingly the Lingayat voters too have supported the Congress in many places. Though the BJP made Yediyurappa and Bommai Chief Ministers and increased their reservation, the party failed to encash it.
While the Congress had to face the allegation of dividing the Lingayat community during the Siddaramaiah government, the Congress succeeded in wooing them back in many places. The Congress has succeeded in making a comeback in Kalyana Karnataka and Kittur Karnataka. The increase in SC/ST and internal reservation too seems to have failed in helping the BJP.
Ban on Bajrang Dal:
While the assurance to Ban on Bajrang Dal was seen as a major problem for Congress, the Congress has succeeded in achieving its aim.
“Many felt that this move would be seen as an anti-Hindu move and the party would suffer in several constituencies. The ban issue was a strategically thoughtout plan of the Congress. The main aim of the Congress was the Muslim votes that would otherwise go to the JD(S). The assurance is said to have helped in uniting the Muslims in support of the Congress in those constituencies where Muslims play a crucial role in the election,” a leader said.
Rahul, Priyanka, and Kharge:
For Rahul, Priyanka Gandhi, and Mallikarjun Kharge, this election was crucial. This succeeded to a great extent to display their leadership. This election was a major challenge for Kharge as it was in his home state. For Rahul this was an important election to bring back the Congress in South India. The leaders planned a proper strategy and also placed proper persons in the proper place. Every campaign was properly planned and enforced.
