Bengaluru: Karnataka decides today

Bengaluru : After a high-octane campaign, stage is set for the polls in Karnataka on Wednesday. The stakes for BJP and Congress are high. All-out efforts are being made by both sides to ensure the highest-ever turnout this time. So far, the highest turnout was 57 percent.

The state had witnessed a bitter campaign and even Lord Hanuman was drawn into the campaign with slogans of ‘Jai Bajrang Bali,’ more than ideology or governance. Both the BJP and Congress took the campaign to high pitch and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had spent about 15 days campaigning in Karnataka.

There are over 2.9 crore female voters and around 2.6 crore male voters. Two other interesting aspects during this poll are the large number of voters who are senior citizens above 75 years and 9 percent of the total voters are youth.

That is why unemployment had become a major issue during the campaign along with the allegations of corruption. The Congress took on the ruling BJP raising issues like the alleged corruption under the BJP government during B S Yediyurappa’s regime and now under the leadership of Basvaraj Bommai. While the BJP’s narrative centred around the Congress statement pertaining to banning Bajrang Dal and double engine Sarkar, the Congress opted for innovative way to keep the corruption plan alive by burning effigies representing “40% Sarkara plank” (40 percent commission government) and increase in total reservations from 50% to 75%.

Not just that, apart from the emotional campaign by ’Bhoomiputra’ Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi also went on aggressive campaigns. The results on May 13 will show whether BJP’s Hindutva card can give electoral dividends in the southern belt or not.

Muslims are favourably inclined to Janata Dal (Secular). The JD(S), which has maintained a robust presence in the old Mysuru region, also took up a hectic campaign.

The BRS led by Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao initially threw its weight behind JD(S) and wanted to send a team of campaigners led by Harish Rao to constituencies where Telugu people are significant in numbers. But later he kept away from the campaign. He perhaps felt that “enemy’s enemy is my friend” and did not want anti-BJP votes to be split.

Political circles feel that Congress performance will have a big bearing on its heft in any likely opposition alliance as some regional satraps like West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, AAP and BRS have been doubting the Congress strength to take on BJP.

This election assumes high importance for BJP as it felt that Karnataka would be its gateway to enter south and has set Telangana as its next target. It has been on an overdrive to take on the TRS in Telangana and to emerge as a stronger force in Kerala by wooing Christians.