The only southern state where the BJP is in office is Karnataka. Assembly elections are likely to be held in the state by May 2023. Power equations have changed dramatically since the 2018 assembly election and seeing the current scenario, the political equation seems to be to be going in BJP’S favour.
Congress has been out of power in Karnataka for a long time. Party Supremos are planning some masterstroke to come back in power. But those masterstroke will prove to be forfeit for the party in the upcoming state election. Now, you will ask, how? So, here I go.
Approximately, one quarter of the population of Karnataka belongs to the Dalit community. Kharge is the second leader from this community to be elected as the President of the Congress Party. Congress leaders are closely monitoring the situation of the party and are hopeful that Mallikarjun Kharge’s presidency will help reunite the fractured party’s factions. They are also expecting it to help bolster the party’s vote percentage in the upcoming Karnataka state assembly elections.
But the matter of fact is that, many political analysts and some long-time leaders, who know the gravity of situation on ground, have expressed the opinion that the party’s traditional vote share has decreased in the state over time. This is attributed to a number of factors, including some of the party’s leaders switching allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
A Narayana, a political analyst from Azim Premji University, stated that the “Overall, it (Kharge’s elevation) is an advantage for the Congress (in Karnataka), but to what extent it will turn into an electoral or political capital, we do not know and have to see.”
Political headlines and stories are always filled with the rivalry stories of DK Shivkumar, the president of the Karnataka Congress and Siddharamaiah, the noted man in Karnataka Congress. Time and again they have been seen rallying their own political campaigns to emerge as the tallest leader of Congress in the state. Now, with Kharge at the helm of the party, a new player has joined the game to make the scenario worst for Congress in the state.
Also Read : With state elections two years away, Karnataka Congress splits into Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar factions
Dalit voters are keeping close watch on developments
Amidst the growing tensions between DK Shivakumar and Siddharamaiah, Congress high command has to always make an extra effort to team them together just to prove the party has no splits inside. But by the end of Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka, the fight for supremacy in party between the top leaders of the state was clearly visible.
Now, in this long-standing rivalry between these two politicians, Congress is planning to introduce a third figure to appeal to the Dalit voters and nullify the political imbalance in the party. But Congress is unaware of disaster it is going to face in coming days. By introducing another leader, the party is just creating another bastion which it will not be able to manage and will end up digging their own grave.
Also Read : DK Shivakumar could float his own party in Karnataka
Three headed monster of Congress party
Congress party is predicting Mallikarjun Kharge to be popular among the Dalit community and that he will be enough to please the Dalit voters. But the story seems to be taking another turn and Congress is seen planning its doom in the state.
The president of the BJP’s youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) Tejasvi Surya, who is also the party MP from Bangalore South, said the BJP will retain office because the people realise the benefits of a double engine government. In an interview with Kumar Shakti Shekhar, he also said Mallikarjun Kharge, as the new Congress president, will not have any impact on the forthcoming election because the people know that “the real power lies with the Nehru-Gandhi family.”
It will be intriguing to observe the impact of this decision in the upcoming state election in May 2023. The result is clear. Congress party’s vote bank will be divided and the confused voters will end up voting for another political party. This could potentially provide an unique opportunity for the BJP to gain an advantage from the chaos.
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