All the major leaders are calling the victory a ‘collective effort’ from the rank and file of the party.
NEW DELHI: The high-decibel campaign in Karnataka between BJP and Congress has ended with a victory for Congress. The party, which was pushing for a big state win, got 136 seats in the 224 strong Assembly. All the major party leaders are calling the victory a “collective effort” from the rank and file of the party. A senior leader said, “This is huge. The win has showed that the party is capable of big wins. The party hasn’t seen this type of victory in a long time.”
The party had run a localised campaign, picking up local issues to target the BJP. Several political analysts think that the “Paycm campaign” run by the Congress to target the Basavaraj Bommai government also helped conclusively in consolidating the votes. Another reason the political watchers believe has been the BJP’s inability to contest on the local issues and entirely banking on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. A political analyst said, “Narendra Modi is still seen to be popular on ground. But there were several local issues that people were concerned about and Congress catered to their (local people’s) needs in assuring them the benefits from the party if the Congress comes to power. And that worked.”
Congress spokesperson for Karnataka Shah Nizamuddin listed three major and important factors for the big electoral win, crediting the victory to team work, positive agenda of the party and the “development model we had made for the people of Karnataka”.
He further added, “All the tall leaders worked hard tirelessly and also the collective leadership of Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar have been a great motivation to everybody. Plus Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra being on the ground also played a great role. So, it’s an overall effort. It’s an amazing teamwork. And it is a force that has emerged.” Professor political science in Davangere University, Karnataka, Dr Praveena T.L., listed four points for the victory of the Congress. “One of the major causes for the resounding victory of the Congress is minority voting. They have shifted from JDS to Congress in a huge number. Second, people have not voted for BJP because some of their ministers did not work properly and they fell short on efficiently administering their government. There were also issues relating to reservation and communal things that also worked in Congress’ favour.”
Praveena T.L. added, “Moreover people’s mindset worked differently as they thought they needed to give chance to the other party. That’s where Congress tapped the sentiments and gave some assurances to poor and Dalits. Also, there wasn’t much impact of the Bajrang Dal issue. The BJP could have won 90 seats had the trick worked, but it didn’t and they won only 64 seats.”
Talking about the leadership, party leaders claim that this has been an important election for the Karnataka in-charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala, as before the elections, he had consecutively lost three elections he was given responsibility of. The victory will boost his standing in the party, they said. A source close to Surjewala said, “He has been working tirelessly for this election. He would wake up early and sleep very late and be was always on the run figuring out things. This is the first time he has been so aggressive.”
Consequently, the party is facing another big challenge as to who the high command would select as the CM of the state. After winning the election, Siddaramaiah reaffirmed that it would be the MLAs who would give their opinion to the high command based on which the CM will be chosen. Sources within the party say the decision on who would be the CM will be taken in 24 hours. As of now, party insiders presume that due to the popularity of Siddaramaiah in public as well as among the MLAs, he could be the possible candidate. However, leaders close to Shivakumar believe that it all depends upon the majority number of MLAs supporting a candidate. “It can be Shivakumar as well,” a leader close to Shivakumar said.