Congress back to its usual political antics in Karnataka

By all accounts, the 2023 Assembly elections in the state of Karnataka was historic. Not in the least for the stunning verdict it delivered. Firstly, stats reveal that the voting percentage of 73.84

recorded during the May 2023 polls was the highest ever in the State. Then, when it comes to the result, its impact was felt heavily by the saffron party candidates who were swept out ruthlessly by the state voters.

For the Congress, who were in turn warmly welcomed back to the centrestage of political power, the elections saw their vote share increasing and most importantly, the 135 seats they won ( out of a total of 224) was their best-ever performance at the hustings.

With such a heady return to the mainstream, one would have expected a perky political outfit to immediately settle down and consolidate its gains. Well, for the Congress, the popular adage fits to the T: The more the things change, the more they stay the same.

Having benefitted hugely from Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra which resonated well with the Kannadiga public, over the past one year, with continuous factional politics, communal skirmishes and the shadow-boxing between the top two – Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM, D K Shiva Kumar- the momentum seems to have dissipated.

In any case, in the recent Lok Sabha elections, the effect of Congressism was seen in the outcome when within a year after returning to power, the party couldn’t manage to convert its goodwill into successful seats across the State. BJP was dented when it had to be content with 17 (in 2019, it had bagged 25) but still it emerged as the top party with alliance partner Janata Dal (Secular) adding its own share of two seats.

With the five guarantee schemes announced to woo the public across classes and genders proving to be a bottomless pit of sorts as far as financial allocations go, the hikes in petrol prices, milk prices etc have already started affecting the common people.

Added to that is the power politics on who should be the next CM. With both the factions

refusing to let go, the High Command has had to step in many a time to keep things in shape in the past months. Once again, the one-upmanship between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar has hogged media attention and it threatens to disturb the equilibrium which was accidentally in place all these days.

The overwhelming presence of Mutt heads, with each caste having a Swamiji to espouse their cause, the war is out in the open between the top two caste groups – the Lingayats and the Vokkaligas. Having shared power almost equally all these years, once again the clamour for the top slot for one of them has attained a momentum of its own.

What is notable is that despite the secular nature of governance which the GOP espouses, it is strongly under the influence of a multitude of caste bosses who openly canvass for their own representative. While it is understandable that an overtly religious party like the BJP would heed to their counsel, the Congress has not shown any intent to stay away from being influenced by their pronouncements and appeals.

With Congress leaders raising the ‘Operation Kamala’, (the euphemism for BJP’s efforts to break their party) bogey now and then, politics in the southern state is likely to be continuously on the boil with two squabbling seniors at the top and a set of turncoats and opportunists waiting for their turn next.