Congress upbeat but is taking no chances

The Congress party is taking no chances in Karnataka, having been outmaneuvered in Goa and Manipur. Top leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot, have rushed to Bengaluru on the eve of counting of votes.

Azad has been party incharge of Karnataka in the past and is said to enjoy good relations with former PM and JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda. With most pre-polls surveys predicting a hung house, JD(S) is being seen as the kingmaker.

Hours before the results, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was getting hints of a possible change of guard from within his own party. "There are at least half a dozen chief ministerial candidates in our party," said G Parameshwara, a senior Congress leader from Karnataka, confirming that he too was in reckoning. "Of course, since the last election, I have been portrayed as an alternative or one of the chief ministerial candidates... let me also take a chance," the politician, who heads.

If the Congress wins Karnataka, it will find the year end Assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh a relatively easier proposition. This will set the tone for the 2019 general elections and determine the changing political contours of an anti-BJP formation. It may also pitchfork Rahul into a pole position.

In the unlikely event of the BJP snatching Karnataka, bolstered saffron forces will start looking at the other Southern states beyond the Vindhyas. A belligerent BJP may then even consider going for a snap Lok Sabha poll in December along with the Assembly elections in three states.

The Karnataka campaign had largely become a political slugfest – perhaps the dirtiest ever – between Rahul and PM Modi/Amit Shah combine. But it may be blessing in disguise as Rahul has been able to break away for his peter pan image of a

political greenhorn; at least, he was able to push the BJP leaders to the back foot. This was no mean effort considering that no other senior leader campaigned for the party, barring Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. This is the biggest take away for the Congress – irrespective of whether there is a decisive verdict in its favour or not.