Market of speculation heats up with election announcement in Karnataka

on 10 MayPolling will be held on 224 seats in Karnataka and the results will be out on May 13. Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad says the election will be very interesting. A former general secretary of the party says that in view of the Karnataka Assembly elections in the Union Budget session, a big bet has been played by the ruling party, but it will not be successful. The result of the Karnataka Assembly elections will set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024. Karnataka government minister and senior leader Eshwarappa says that everyone has the right to dream. A senior leader of the BJP headquarters said that the spokesperson of the party would speak in this matter. All we have to say is that there is no political alternative to Prime Minister Modi in the country right now. Karnataka has been the biggest and oldest bastion of political drama in India. There are continuous dramas between Congress and BJP here. Sometimes BJP spoils the game of Congress and sometimes Congress spoils the game of BJP. Sometimes BJP’s Yeddyurappa rebels and sometimes there is rebellion in the Congress. Sometimes someone becomes a monk and sometimes someone else. Karnataka being an old haven for defectors, the Karnataka assembly elections will be as interesting as ever. The political camel here is never trusted, because it can take any turn anytime. The real political fight in the Karnataka Assembly is between two parties. On April 5, former Congress MP Rahul Gandhi will address a public meeting in Kolera on April 5. Karnataka is the home state of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge. That’s why this time the moral responsibility of Kharge has also increased a lot. Sources in Rahul Gandhi’s secretariat reveal that the party has made all out efforts to get success in the Karnataka assembly elections. Priyanka Gandhi will also go there for election campaign. Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, along with former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, were waiting for the election dates to be announced anytime since last 15 days. A senior Karnataka Congress leader who hails from Udupi says that whether people make or break the equation, the wind is in favor of the Congress. Many BJP leaders have joined Congress and many are ready to join. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai himself is apprehensive about such a situation. This is the biggest proof of people’s disappointment with the BJP government in the state.
Significantly, the Election Commission announced the election date. Two days before this announcement, the party’s MLA from Chennagiri, Madal Virukshapa, was arrested in a bribery case. Earlier, investigating officers have recovered Rs 6 crore from his residence and Rs 2 crore in cash from his son’s office. Just two weeks before this, BJP leader Puttanna had joined the Congress. Senior leaders Manjunath Coonoor, KR Peet, Baburao Chinchinasur have left BJP and joined Congress. There is another discussion within the BJP. That is, in Himachal and Gujarat assembly elections, tickets of MLAs were cut on a large scale. There is a lot of internal discussion about this. It is also being said that in the last assembly elections, all the BJP leaders won the elections on their own. The party is therefore under immense pressure to quell the dissent of its MLAs and leaders. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai also said that Congress is luring BJP leaders by giving them tickets. In such a situation, it is believed that the BJP can implement the strategy of contesting the maximum number of sitting MLAs. This time the Janardhan Reddy brothers, who have influence over 15-20 assembly seats in and around Vellary, are also angry.
You will remember that in the last assembly elections in Karnataka, Congress got 38 percent vote share. According to the survey, this time the vote share of Congress can increase by more than 2 percent. The BJP got 36 per cent vote share in the last election. JDS got 18 per cent vote share last time.
Before the elections, the faces of the winners and losers start appearing like balloons flying in the air. More than the disqualification of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for the Lok Sabha elections, the performance of the state government is going to affect the results of the Karnataka assembly elections. Most of the people appeared dissatisfied with the functioning of the current government of Karnataka.

Local issues are always more effective in assembly elections. This time too, there will be issues like unemployment, corruption, corona, electricity, water. Unemployment is one of the most important issues in Karnataka. The issues of electricity, roads and water are also going to affect the elections. 19 percent of the people of the state raised concerns about education facilities, 2.9 percent about law and order, women’s safety, 12.7 percent about corruption in government works, 4 percent about the issue of corona pandemic, 3.5 percent about issues related to farmers, 1.2 percent about people Told the issue of nationalism as big. 6.1 percent of the people who participated in the poll consider other issues as the main issue.

In Karnataka, the BJP has great faith in its leader, former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa. Prime Minister Modi counts him among his confidants. It was under the leadership of Yeddyurappa that the party blossomed for the first time in Karnataka. Yeddyurappa has the support of the Lingayat community. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Yeddyurappa are working on a parallel strategy to paint a picture of a return to government. All the leaders including Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Mansukh Mandaviya from Delhi are continuously active. Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself is closely monitoring every development in Karnataka. Sources at the BJP headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Marg reveal that at present, JP Nadda has only the goal of returning the BJP to Karnataka on mission mode. Let us tell that organization minister BL Santhosh is also from Karnataka. The equation with Yeddyurappa is not very favourable, but considering all the circumstances, BJP strategists are currently focusing on the state. An MP coming from Karnataka says that there are 63 seats in the state where we have never got success. But in 2023, the picture is expected to be changed on these 63 seats. They say that only BJP will form the government.

Before any survey or assessment, even the star campaigners of BJP will have to have a look. After Modi ji, the magic of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath speaks on the people of Karnataka. In the 2018 assembly elections, Yogi Adityanath’s strong rallies created the election wind in Karnataka. Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai demanded Yogi Adityanath to campaign in the state after the announcement of the election date. Regarding the demand of Yogi Adityanath in Karnataka, political experts believe that in terms of BJP’s line length, Yogi Adityanath’s quick visit to Karnataka is considered to be a deal of political advantage in every respect. Not only this, the political atmosphere prevailing in Karnataka at this time, Yogi Adityanath’s election tour is considered favorable for the Bharatiya Janata Party. Now, as the election date draws near, many political equations may change. .
(Views are personal of the author)
Ashok Bhatia