Battle of ‘guarantees’ between BJP, Congress in parched Karnataka
Looking to repeat its 2019 sweep in Old Mysore and coastal regions, BJP has e‡ected massive changes and banks on its ally JD(S) to boost its chances; Congress, which has Œelded both young and experienced faces, attempts to counter Modi’s development narra
nterest in the Lok Sabha election in Karnataka has been kept alive by the implementation of ve “guarantee” schemes, a poll promise made by the Congress in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly election in 2023, which seems to be countering the “Modi’s guarantee” narrative of the BJP on the ground.
Amidst a drought across the State, the worst in four decades, and a agricultural crisis in the hinterland, 14 seats in southern Karnataka’s Old Mysore and coastal regions are going to the polls in the second phase of the Lok Sabha election on April 26. Across the State, the Congress managed to win just one of the 28 Lok Sabha seats in 2019. The BJP swept 25 seats riding on a perceived “Modi wave” despite the then Congress-Janata Dal (S) alliance being in power in the State.
The lone Congress seat came from southern Karnataka, where the BJP bagged 11 out of 14 seats, with the other two shared by the JD(S) and an Inde
Ipendent. Now, in a bipolar contest, the Congress is taking on the BJP, which has the JD(S) on its side in the Old Mysore region, where the regional party has considerable sway over Vokkaligas, a land-owning caste that dominates regional politics.
Looking to repeat its 2019 performance, the BJP appears to be under pressure. To beat the anti-incumbency factor and attempting to realign local caste combinations, the sa©ron party, which is contesting 11 of the 14 seats as part of a seat sharing agreement with the JD(S), has e©ected massive changes, replacing eight of its incumbent MPs and shifting one to a di©erent constituency. Those missing out in the overhaul include Union Minister A. Narayanswamy (Chitradurga Scheduled Caste reserved seat), former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda (Bengaluru North) and former BJP State chief Naveen Kumar Kateel (Dakshina Kannada).
The party has let its alliance partner contest from Kolar, which the former had won in 2019.
The new faces
The new faces include Yaduveer Krishnadatta Wadiyar, scion of the Mysuru royal family who is contesting the Mysuru constituency. C.N. Manjunath, noted cardiologist and son-in-law of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, is taking on the incumbent Congress MP D.K. Suresh in Bengaluru Rural.
In the Chitradurga, Tumakuru and Chikkaballapur constituencies, the BJP has replaced its candidates with former Ministers Govind Karjol, V. Somanna, and K. Sudhakar, respectively, all of whom lost the Assembly election. The party has shifted Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje from Udupi-Chikkamagaluru where she faced resistance, to Bengaluru North.
The JD(S) has elded former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who replaced incumbent BJPbacked Independent Sumalatha, from Mandya, the hotbed of Vokkaliga politics. Prajwal Revanna, grandson of Mr. Deve Gowda, is seeking re-election from Hassan.
The Congress has elded a combination of young and experienced faces, with many of the youngsters from families of in¥uential party leaders.
Sowmya Reddy (Bengaluru South), Sunil Bose (Chamarajanagar SC reserved) and Raksha Ramaiah (Chikkaballapur) are related to Cabinet Ministers. D.K. Suresh (Bengaluru Rural) is the brother of Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, while Mansoor Ali Khan (Bengaluru Central), Rajeev Gowda (Bengaluru North), K.V. Gowtham (Kolar), Shreyas M. Patel (Hassan), and Venkataramane Gowda (Mandya) are from the families of in¥uential Congress leaders.
Congress’s issues
The Congress set a narrative against the BJP for alleged injustice in sharing tax revenue and grossly delaying the release of drought relief in the runup to the elections, putting the BJP on the backfoot.
It also raised issues of delays in the permission to execute the Mekedatu project across the Cauvery, which strikes an emotional chord with the people in the region.
On the ground, the “ve guarantees” schemes of Gruhajyothi (free electricity up to 200 units), Gruhalakshmi (providing women head of the household with ª2,000 a month), Shakti (free travel for women in State-run transport corporation buses), Annabhagya (ª170 per person per month in lieu of ve kg of free rice), and Yuvanidhi (scholarship scheme for the fresh, unemployed graduates and diploma holders), seem to have hit a chord among the economically weaker sections and backward communities.
The BJP has been highlighting the development agenda and Central schemes of the Modi government. The party is banking on the charisma of Mr. Modi to swing votes in its favour.
The BJP will be keenly watching the transfer of votes from the JD(S) to bolster the chances of its candidates in at least eight constituencies as the regional party has a considerable following, especially with D.K. Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga, at the helm of the Congress’s State unit.