Karnataka polls: Mandir darshan for majority result

Will Modi’s personal appeal do the trick for BJP? Will Congress romp home? Or will JD(S) emerge the kingmaker? Karnataka will decide today

Stakes are high for the BJP and higher still for the Congress as people vote to elect a new government in Karnataka on Wednesday following an intense and often bitter campaign that saw the ‘entry’ of Lord Hanuman in the last leg of the electoral battle fought as much on issues of governance as on ideology.

If the Congress appeared to take the fight to the rival by raising the pitch over alleged corruption under the BJP government headed first by B S Yediyurappa and then by Basavaraj Bommai with its high decibel “40 per cent sarkara” plank, the incumbent rode the “double engine” narrative to seek another term to push Karnataka higher up the development chart.

BJP leaders, including Shobha Karandlaje and K Gopalaiah, offer prayers at a Hanuman temple in Bengaluru on Tuesday

The BJP sought to heavily bank on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to bolster its campaign, shore up its prospects and fight “anti-incumbency”. Retaining power in Karnataka—the only party-ruled state in south India—will be key to the BJP to keep up the momentum of its winning streak and get head start to polls in Hindi heartland of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan later this year.

Also Read: People of Karnataka have decided to vote for BJP: CM Bommai ahead of polling day

For Cong, victory=revival

For the Congress, however, wresting power from the BJP will be a morale booster, key for reviving its electoral fortunes and strengthen its credentials as the main opposition player against the saffron party, ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

By ensuring a win in Karnataka, the party also wants to bounce back after the recent losses in the northeastern states and give it a momentum of sorts to take on the battle-ready BJP in the three poll-bound states. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday expressed confidence that the Congress will win the Karnataka assembly elections with a thumping majority when the results are declared on May 13. 

What’s in store for JD(S)?

Political circles are abuzz with quite a familiar debate: will the 2023 Karnataka Assembly polls be a battle of political survival for former PM H D Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) or will the regional party once again emerge as a ‘king’ or a ‘kingmaker’, like it did in 2018, in the event of a hung verdict? Plagued by desertions and internal rifts, and with the image of being a “family party”, Gowda’s son H D Kumaraswamy, has in a way single-handedly managed the JD(S) campaign across the state, with his aging father taking the backseat.

Kumaraswamy has by-and-large focused his campaign on the promise to provide quality education, healthcare, housing, farmer welfare and employment. This time, the party has set an ambitious target of winning on its own at least 123 out of total 224 seats and has been seeking votes invoking regional Kannadiga pride. There are, however, doubts among some political observers and within a section of the party itself about JD(S) meeting this target. In the 2018 polls, JD(S) won 37 seats.

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