Why Cong Won & BJP Lost in Karnataka

Congress is looking at a comfortable win in Karnataka, with trends showing over 130 seats to the grand old party.

Anti-incumbency against BJP’s Backdoor Power Grabbing

The incumbent BJP government was formed with defections from the Congress and the JD(S) after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. There was a growing anti-incumbency among the voters as the party failed deliver on its poll promises.

Corruption Charges:

Congress managed to use corruption allegations as a major taint against the Basavaraj Bommai government. The ‘40% sarkar’ allegations were widely seen in election rallies and social media campaigns.

The party devised campaigns like “PayCM” posters with QR codes that had pictures of the Karnataka chief minister to target the Bommai government.

National Issues Vs Local Issues

The BJP focused on the National Register of Citizens (NRC), the uniform civil code, a panel “to grant complete autonomy of temple administration to devotees” as well as Hindutva rhetoric. The Congress, on the other hand, focused on local issues. Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly said that the election was about Karnataka and not Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urged voters to focus on local issues.

Proper Planning

Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from Karnataka, camped in Karnataka. His presence motivated the party workers. Kharge unveiled the party’s manifesto.

All the three Gandhis in the campaign bolstered the state cadres. Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi directly interacted with the common voters. It was in sharp contrast with the glitzy campaign rallies and road shows of PM Modi and Amit Shah.

The party avoided a war of words with the BJP when the issue of abuse against PM Modi was raked up.

Promises for Commoners

The Congress party began printing “guarantee cards” and began a door-to-door campaign to ensure they reached maximum homes. The guarantees were announced in a phased manner to generate interest and avoid allegations of poll gimmicks.

The guarantees were designed to appeal to women and the young and linked to issues like price rise and unemployment. The ‘Gruha Lakshmi’ and ‘Yuva Nidhi’ schemes were targeted to attract undecided and fence-sitting women and young voters.

Eradicating Differences

The Congress micromanaged and coordinated joint appearances from its leaders, Siddaramaiah and DK Shivakumar, to eradicate the allegation of differences between them. Both appeared together with Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in October last year.

Strategic Use of Bajrang Dal

Congress strategically mentioned Bajrang Dal in its manifesto, along with other radical groups. This made the BJP concentrate on the Bajrang Dal factor rather than harping on local issues. By targeting Bajrang Dal, the Congress showed that in its rule law will be supreme. This resulted in counter-polarisation among the Muslims, as a large section of urban voters view the outfit as troublesome.