Karnataka Facing the anti-incumbency wave, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) tried to cross the electoral wall with the help of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity but could not succeed.
Modi-Shah magic did not work in Karnataka
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had addressed 19 rallies for the elections to the 224-member state assembly held on May 10 and gave an aggressive look to the BJP’s election campaign by holding six roadshows. Apart from him, the party had engaged many top leaders including National President JP Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the state election campaign. When the outgoing Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai was asked whether the magic of Modi or Shah did not work in this election, he said that something can be said about it only after analyzing the results.
BJP reduced to 65 seats
While the Congress got 136 seats in the Karnataka assembly elections, the BJP was reduced to only 65 seats. The BJP had won 104 seats in the 2018 assembly elections.
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Basavaraj Bommai told, in which matter BJP lagged behind Congress
Basavaraj Bommai, however, said that the Congress’s “more organized” electoral strategy could be one of the reasons for its victory. Some party leaders privately admitted that the Congress’s campaign on the ‘front of discussion’ was too aggressive compared to theirs. She underlined that she had been attacking the Bommai government on the issue of corruption since months before the elections. Another leader admitted that the BJP had failed to effectively counter Congress’s allegations of corruption.
Rural women did not support BJP?
The BJP functionary said, in rural areas, a large number of women seem to have voted in favor of the Congress as inflation was an issue, especially the price of cooking gas. Another BJP leader said that the party could have improved the ticket distribution strategy. He said former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi were denied tickets after which both left the party and eventually joined the Congress.
Congress’s election promise impressed the people of Karnataka
BJP sources said that the ‘guarantee’ given by the Congress to give free electricity, rice and unemployment allowance before the elections also swayed a large section of voters to the opposition party’s side. Another BJP leader said that to counter the anti-incumbency wave, the party fielded 75 new faces but some of them were tainted and did not have a clear image.
