Minor parties likely to play spoilsport for Cong, BJP

BENGALURU: A slew of minor parties is hoping to nick a few seats and decide the contest in others in the May 12 elections to the 224member Karnataka assembly as the three principal contenders — Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) — slug it out in the state.

The Aam Aadmi Party, Communist Party of India (Marxist) and even the Karnataka Janata Paksha, credited with having reduced the BJP to the third spot in 2013, are known names. But others like the Mahila Empowerment Party, Karnataka Pragnyavantha Janata Party (KPJP) and Bharatiya Janashakti Congress are also hoping to make an impact.

With opinion polls predicting a tough contest in the elections, leaders of the principal parties are trying hard to nullify the impact that these spoilers might have. The major parties are worried that the smaller ones with even a few hundred votes could make the difference between the winner and the loser in close contests. For instance, Prithvi Reddy of AAP is set to battle it out against Bengaluru development minister KJ George and is confident of causing some damage. “The problem appears to be that the narrative is no longer about what anybody stands for. People are voting to defeat someone rather than vote for a person,” he said. The AAP, Reddy claims, is out to prove that the people, when given a choice, will make the right decision. “Hence, our campaign slogan is this time you have a choice...,” he added.

The CPI(M) is also getting ready to attack the three parties for failing to address the distress of farmers and labourers in the state. “Even the government of Siddaramaiah, who claims to be a socialist, was happy in allowing an increase in privatisation, even in agriculture. This government has done little for the poor and labouring classes,” Maruti Manpade, CPM’s farmer leader from Kalaburagi, said.

The KJP, on the other hand, wants to continue its approach of fielding candidates against the BJP’s key leaders. Prasanna Kumar, the founder of the KJP, said this time his aim would be to ensure the defeat of BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje. “Wherever she contests from, I will fight against her,” Kumar said.

However, political analysts are sceptical of these parties’ chances.

“I don’t think many of these parties can win, but in close contests, the few votes that they will poll will be decisive in deciding the winner,” Narendar Pani of the National Institute of Advanced Studies said.

The counting of votes will take place on May 15.