Karnataka polls: Key takeaways for all parties

BJP’s failure to retain power in Karnataka is certainly a setback for the saffron party in its attempt to prove that it is pan-India party. Though the saffron party retained its vote share of about 36 per cent, in terms of seats, it suffered a major dent. The high-voltage campaign consisting of 437 public meetings by both the Central and the State leaders besides 138 roadshows by them ever since the declaration of elections did not pay the kind of dividends they expected.

The galaxy of BJP leaders who left no stone unturned included Prime Minister Narendra Modi who addressed 18 rallies and spoke to party workers through virtual interaction, held several road shows in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Kalaburagi and Tumakuru. The other top leaders who campaigned vigorously were Union Home Minister Amit Shah and UP Chief Minister Yogi Adiyanath and a host of Telangana BJP leaders, including state president Bandi Sanjay, in the Telugu-dominated areas of Karnataka did not cut any ice with the voters.

The setback is particularly significant given that Karnataka is the only state in southern India where the BJP had been in governance or held a dominant position. In other states it is not even the main opposition. The BJP in fact had drawn a road map to enter Telangana via Karnataka. An emboldened Congress and BRS would intensify their campaign that a repeat of Karnataka results would be witnessed in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, too.

The BJP in Telangana will have to work out new strategies to retain its success in GHMC polls and Dubbaka and Huzurabad by polls. Except for the fact that the election results in Karnataka would put some roadblocks for BJP in Telangana, no major political outcome is expected. The Congress party which is on cloud nine and feels that it can be back in driver’s seat and lead all anti-BJP parties in the 2024 elections may not succeed. At the most, it could possibly build up steam in Telangana after its Karnataka win.

BRS party has already made it clear that it would not go with Congress and that in Telangana it is Congress which is its main rival. Mamata Banerjee who predicted that BJP would not get more than 100 seats in Lok Sabha polls is also not in favour of accepting Congress leadership. The Congress party, too, which feels that Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra has helped them, should shed its illusions. In Karnataka, it won because the party rank and file in the State had shown tremendous unity by burying their hatchet. Whether it will be able to sustain the momentum or lose its steam by letting its trademark infighting to come to the fore remains to be seen.

Similarly, if the opposition parties feel that BJP would lose Rajasthan polls, then they are certainly in for disappointment as the mood of people in Rajasthan is ‘Ab Ki Baar Modi Sarkar.’ Rajasthanis have soft corner for their Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot but as a party, they feel, Congress has ruined the State. They do not hide their anger and openly claim that they would vote for BJP. However, the saffron party may not be able to come to power in Chhattisgarh.

This setback suffered by the BJP in Karnataka is one way good for democracy as the BJP at the Centre and some regional parties such as BRS, YSRCP and TMC always wanted that the opposition, read Congress, should be decimated. Even the PM many times talked of Congress-Mukt Bharat, forgetting that a strong opposition always benefits the government to take quick corrective measures. In short, the Karnataka results have lessons to be learnt by all parties – national and regional.