When the results of the Karnataka elections were announced on 13 May, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was in for a shock. The party was expecting a neck-and-neck fight with the rival Congress, but the election results made the BJP think tank. Drawing board once again. What was most worrying for the BJP was that none of its strategy worked in Karnataka – be it fielding new faces, denying tickets to leaders facing corruption charges, the Hindutva issue or Election storm by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Some key factors helped the Congress tame the BJP’s bull run, including strong regional leadership, a new social alliance of Ahinda (a Kannada abbreviation for minorities or minorities, Hindulidavaru or backward classes, and dalitaru or Dalits). , included outright corruption campaign against BJP. and populist promises like free electricity and monthly allowances for women and unemployed youth.
BJP has learned a tough lesson from the defeat in Karnataka elections. According to a report in NDTV, the saffron party is not only brainstorming on its shortcomings but is also rethinking its strategy for the upcoming state assembly elections like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Telangana.
According to reports, the BJP will keep caste equations in mind while deciding candidates and regional leadership in the poll-bound states. In Karnataka, the ouster of BS Yeddyurappa and denial of tickets to senior leaders of the Lingayat sect like Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Sadavi caused major losses to the BJP. BJP has also kept the options of alliance with regional parties open if needed. This will help the party avoid division of votes.
The BJP’s strategy of over-reliance on the central leadership came under severe criticism following its defeat in the Karnataka elections. Now instead of relying more on central leaders, the party is trying to focus on local leaders. The BJP may also turn to finely crafted election campaigns around local issues rather than placing all the emphasis on larger national issues. Focusing on local issues has helped the Congress in Karnataka.
To avoid any kind of internal discord, the central leadership will ask the state leadership to take all the senior leaders along. As in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will continue to be the face of the party, asked to put his weight behind leaders such as Jyotiraditya Scindia, Narendra Singh Tomar and BD Sharma. Vasundhara Raje will be given preference in Rajasthan and she will be asked to take along other senior leaders like Kirori Lal Meena, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Satish Poonia. In Telangana, the party will empower Bandi Sajay, while E Rajendran and G Kishan Reddy will also play important roles. Chhattisgarh will see Raman Singh, Brijmohan Agarwal and Arun Saw in lead roles. The BJP will tighten its noose around the state leaders and ask them to sort out their internal differences before the elections.
Political analysts say that the BJP needs to strengthen its regional leadership by making regional issues its main poll plank to win the next elections.