BENGALURU: The BJP is looking to script history to retain its southern bastion, while a combative Congress eyes Wednesday’s polls in Karnataka at the end of a high-octane campaign marked by falling levels of public discourse. and grew rapidly day by day. Bajrang Dal issue State leaders and candidates of various political parties thronged temples to seek blessings of God and good fortune on the eve of polling for 224 assembly constituencies on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted to the people of Karnataka Gave a video message and sought his blessings in the mission of making the state number one in the country
The Congress has petitioned the Election Commission demanding immediate action against the Prime Minister for appealing to voters in Karnataka to “violate” the model code of conduct, saying it is “undermining the EC’s ability and willingness to enforce the law”. was a litmus test”. In his message, Modi said the affection he has received in the state in the last few days is unparalleled and has strengthened the resolve to make it number one in all fields.
“The dream of every citizen of Karnataka is my dream. Your resolve is my resolve. When we come together and set our minds on a goal, no force in the world can stop us.” Modi appealed to the “brothers and sisters” of the state, seeking their blessings in the mission of making Karnataka the number one state in the country.
“My appeal is for the bright future of Karnataka. It is for the bright future of your family, especially the younger generation,” said the prime minister, who addressed 19 public meetings and held six roadshows as part of the BJP’s aggressive campaign in the state. , In a lengthy complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner, Congress general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Surjewala asked the commission whether it would remain a “silent and helpless spectator” or fulfill its constitutional duty and act against the prime minister.
With the stakes high in the mega battle of ballots, the major political parties in contention – BJP, Congress and JD(S) – have made a strong pitch to boost their electoral prospects. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has also fielded candidates in Punjab and Delhi. Amid tight security arrangements, polling will be held from 7 am to 6 pm and the counting of votes will take place on Saturday. A total of 2,615 candidates are in the fray.
While the ruling BJP, riding on the Modi juggernaut, seeks to break a 38-year-old illusion – Karnataka has never voted a party to power since 1985, the Congress is hoping for a morale-boosting victory to propel it A lot could be achieved – enough scope and momentum was needed to establish itself as the main opposition player in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
The battle-ready BJP with its well-oiled election machine kicked off its campaign with a stormy campaign by Prime Minister Modi. It was clear that the ‘double-engine government’ was trying to strengthen its campaign, boost its prospects and rely heavily on Modi’s appeal to fight “anti-incumbency”. Also, it needs to be watched whether in the event of a hung mandate, the Janata Dal (Secular) led by former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda will emerge as the “kingmaker” or “king” holding the key to form the government. , as it has done in the past.
The Congress manifesto proposal to ban Bajrang Dal heated up half of the campaign as the BJP and Prime Minister Modi aggressively played up the issue to portray the grand old party as being against Lord Hanuman and the sentiments of Hindus. insisted on. Modi compared the proposed ban to locking up Hanuman himself. After the Congress released its manifesto, he also decided to chant ‘Jai Bajrang Bali’ in all his speeches. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai (Shiggaon), Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah (Varun), JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy (Channapatna) and State Congress President DK Shivakumar (Kanakpura) are among the top candidates.
Besides Siddaramaiah and Kumaraswamy, Jagadish Shettar (Hubli-Dharwad Central) is the other former CM who is in the fray. Shettar had recently quit the BJP and joined the Congress. Bommai and Shivakumar also visited Anjaneya (Hanuman) temples on Tuesday. While Bommai visited the temple at Vijayanagar in Hubballi and chanted “Hanuman Chalisa” with the devotees there, Shivakumar visited the temple at KR Market in Bengaluru and offered prayers. Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, along with a large number of Congress leaders and supporters, also worshiped the goddess Chamundeshwari of Mysore city.
Accompanied by flowers, fruits, “thambulam”, incense sticks and pure butter, Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar presented a brief copy of the Congress’ election manifesto, which highlighted the party’s five “guarantees” if voted to power. Talks like ‘venomous snake’, ‘poisonous girl’ and ‘worthless son’ tainted the election campaign as some leaders used intemperate and abusive language.
While Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from Karnataka, compared Modi to a ‘venomous snake’, his son and Congress candidate Priyank Kharge called the prime minister a ‘worthless son’, BJP MLA Basangouda Patil Yatnal, former Congress president and MP Told Sonia Gandhi. As a ‘Vishkanya’ (poisonous woman).
The Election Commission claimed that enforcement agencies in Karnataka seized liquor, drugs and “inducements” worth over Rs 375 crore, which was 4.5 times more than the amount recovered during the last assembly election in the state in 2018. “A government with absolute majority” seemed to be the favorite slogan for leaders of all political parties during the election campaign that ended on Monday, as they stressed on getting a clear mandate to form a strong and stable government, unlike the 2018 assembly polls. Had given.
In the 2018 elections, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party by winning 104 seats, followed by the Congress 80, the JD(S) 37, and an independent, the BSP and the Karnataka Pragyavantha Janata Party (one each). With no party having a clear majority and Congress and JD(S) making a bid to form an alliance, BJP veteran BS Yediyurappa staked claim and formed the government. However, it had to resign within three days before the vote of confidence, being unable to have the numbers.
Subsequently, the Congress-JD(S) coalition formed the government with Kumaraswamy as chief minister, but the wobbly government fell within 14 months as 17 MLAs, including independents, resigned and walked out of the ruling coalition, and the BJP got included in. The BJP then came back to power and in the subsequent by-elections in 2019, the ruling party won 12 out of 15 seats.
In the outgoing assembly, the ruling BJP has 116 MLAs, followed by Congress 69, JD(S) 29, BSP one, Independents two, Speaker one and six vacant MLAs. The BJP’s campaign seemed largely “centralised”, with the focus mainly on Prime Minister Modi, the ‘double-engine’ government, national issues and programs or achievements of the central government, which included states on reservation.
The Congress focused more largely on local issues, and its campaign was also initially carried out by its state leaders. However, its central leaders such as AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra later pitched in. The Congress was also aggressive on the issue of corruption, accusing the BJP of being a ‘government of 40 per cent commission’. But the party’s promise to restore the 4 per cent quota for Muslims was seized upon by the BJP to bolster its Hindutva plank in the hope of consolidating votes.
The Congress claimed that it ran a positive and development-oriented campaign with a vision for Kannadigas, while the BJP aimed to “distract, divide and deceive” the people. The JD(S) ran a highly localized campaign, entirely led by its leader H.D. Kumaraswamy, with party patriarch Deve Gowda joining later, despite his advanced age and related ailments.