Karnataka Assembly elections 2018: What parties believe will work for them?

Now with less than two months to go for the assembly elections, Bengaluru and Karnataka are truly in campaign and election mode.

The state has already seen multiple tours by PM Modi, Rahul Gandhi, Amit Shah and other bigwigs from all across the political spectrum. JD(S) has already declared their first list of candidates with 126 names. Congress and the BJP are expected to release their first list shortly, by end of March or in the first week of April. Hectic lobbying to secure a party ticket in underway in all camps. It is widely expected that all the parties will give tickets to younger and fresher faces, along with their sitting MLAs. This time around the Karnataka State Assembly Elections will be keenly fought with all the parties believing they have a real shot at power and thus leaving no stone unturned to achieve desirable results. Both the Congress and the BJP have had good electoral experiences in the recent past with BJP wining in the North East and Congress performing better than expected in Gujarat and wining by-polls in MP and Rajasthan.

In Karnataka, the Congress is trying to macro-manage the assembly elections to achieve favourable electoral arithmetic. Both CM Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi have been launching scathing attacks on the policies of the central government and PM Modi. CM Siddaramaiah has tried and projected the 2018 assembly elections as a contest between him and PM Modi. Simultaneously, Congress is also trying to highlight and showcase its achievements and developmental work too. Congress expects to sail through with their traditional vote bank, along with that of minorities and backward class, they are also trying to woo other caste groups and vote blocks in different regions of Karnataka. Current CM Siddaramaiah has had his eyes on the assemble elections since the last couple of years. Thus Congress has indulged in some clever political manoeuvring with playing the son-of-the-soils and Kannada pride card and raked up issues such as anti-Hindi protests and Karnataka state flag. CM Siddaramaiah according minority status to Lingayats just 2 months before the elections is also seen as a move to dent the traditional BJP vote base.

Karnataka Assembly election 2018: Why it is important for BJP and Congress

Keeping all these political issues and twists and turns in Karnataka State, The entire nation and Karnataka state is eagerly waiting for the election and who will win.

This April-May will evidence the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in 224 constituencies to elect their respective members. Karnataka Assembly tenure ends in May 2018. The upcoming election is scheduled for April-May 2018.

The Lotus Strategy: Criticizing Invites Death

The official campaign of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began on November 2, 2017. They launched Nava Karnataka Nirmana Parivarthana rally, which was for 75 days across the entire state lead by the state president, Y.S Yeddyurappa. The rally was completed on February 8, 2018, covering all the constituents in Karnataka covering all the constituencies and ended with a note addressed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister in his speech said that the entire world is busy with ease of doing business, while the Congress is busy with ease of doing murders.” “Anyone who criticizes the government will pay with death.”

Mr. Modi also stated that he wants to free Karnataka from the dynasty rule of the inefficient Congress. This would also mean putting an end to corruption and dirty politics.

A fourteen-day “Protect Bengaluru” was conducted by BJP party. According to this party, they were reviving and rebuilding the city from the gross negligence of the Congress party. The BJP and Janatadal parties were campaigning against the Congress pointing out the flaws and shortcomings under Siddaramaiah. This act has compelled Congress to emphasize on the achievements made to counter both the parties. The BJP has given enough indications that this time the election campaign will be Modi-centric and less of B.S.Yeddurappa. BJP prefers to seek votes in the name of Mr. Modi by having him as the face of the elections. The chief minister seems to be shrewd in engaging the Prime Minister.

The Congress Way: Being More Aggressive

The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) took up an act of setting up a booth level committee at 54,261 locations. They will spread the information on the various programs undertaken by the ruling Indian National Congress. This was an extensive outreach program, which was held just before the elections. The ruling congress has taken aggressive steps to reach to grass root level to halt the impression created by BJP. This micro-level reach by the Congress had created a positive impact on the people. Congress was on losing end for the past few elections.

Twists & Turns In The End

When an opinion poll was gathered, a sample revealed that Kumaraswami from Janata dal was their first choice, followed by Yeddyurappa (BJP) and then Siddaramaiah (Indian National Congress). Keeping all these political issues and twists and turns in Karnataka State, The entire nation and Karnataka state is eagerly waiting for the election and who will win in Karnataka Assembly Elections 2018.

BJP bets its all on Yeddyurappa for its re-entry in South India

Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa, who faces charges of underhand dealings in the state’s biggest mining scam, will lead the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the next Assembly election in 2018.

The strongman of the majority Lingayat community is facing a trial in a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)  court for receiving bribes from a private mining company.

The decision to make him the face of the Karnataka News and perhaps its chief minister candidate was taken by a party high command that is pledged to fighting corruption.

The decision follows pressure by the Lingayat community after Yeddyurappa edged himself out of a slew of cases on illegal denotification of government land. The cases were quashed by the Karnataka High Court on procedural grounds, which the Supreme Court upheld.

In 2011, Yeddyurappa had to step down as chief minister after his name figured in a Lok Ayukta report on a Rs 3,000 crore scam in the iron-ore rich Bellary district. Apart from Yeddyurappa, party colleagues Sriramulu, Janardhana Reddy, Anand Singh and Nagendra were indicted for shipping thousands of tonnes of iron ore to China.

Yeddyurappa, who is now a Lok Sabha member from Shivamogga, will on April 14 take over of the state unit’s reins at an event the BJP plans to use to project itself as a Dalit-friendly party.

On Saturday, BJP leaders thronged Yeddyurappa’s residence in Bengaluru, calling him the only popular face of the party who could lead it in elections two years from now.

The developments were watched warily by the Congress, which has been ruling the state since 2013. “It shows their hypocrisy in appointing a person charged with corruption,” said party spokesperson Dinesh Gundu Rao.

The Congress government has been facing flak over infighting and for not providing development. “In the last three years, there were irritants… Now that is over, we have two years to showcase our performance,” Rao said.

“Yeddyurappa has time and again proven he is inevitable for the BJP. The party’s  calculation is that only he can galvanise the state unit,” said Sandeep Shastri, political scientist and pro vice-chancellor at Jain University.
 

While some would give full marks to the BJP for starting early in the only state in the south where they stand a chance – having given up on Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Kerala – finally, it was a tainted leader that the "party with a difference" has to fall back on.