The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S)), both have the common goal; to overcome Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, and stop the Congress from yet another term in the state. While both the parties are in direct contest to each other, and Modi has boosted his criticism of the party in his recent rallies, claiming it had a “secret alliance” with the Congress, the fact cannot be overseen that both parties are all too acutely aware they need each other.
South Karnataka is a crucial region. A look back on the state's electoral map from 2013 shows that the influence of the JD(S) is mostly limited to the region, where the BJP is not a strong political player. The Old Mysore region will most likely be a two-horse race between the Congress and the JD(S). The Congress, in 2013, had bagged 45.8 per cent of the seat share, with the JD(S) closely following at 42.4 per cent. The BJP, on the other hand, had barely registered a presence at 3.39 per cent.
Modi lashes out at the Congress
Karnataka polls are just a week away and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in the state to convert votes. Speaking at an election rally at Vijayapura on Tuesday, Modi hit out at the Congress party, saying their excuse for defeat in Karnataka Assembly elections will be faulty EVMs. “Instead of going among the people, the Congress leaders are thinking about what excuses to make about a certain defeat. The reasons for their excuse will include faulty EVMs among others,” he said. “When the state was suffering due to droughts, ministers handling key portfolios were busy in Delhi doing politics.”
Modi said the people were gathered for the rally in large numbers as they wanted to show their support for the BJP and aspire a better life in the coming five years. “I am here in a land closely associated with Bhagwan Basaveshwara. His philosophy called for taking all sections of society together. Sadly, the Congress government has not followed his principles. All they are bothered about is their votes,” Modi said. He said the Central Government has brought social security schemes that are benefiting the poor. “It is our government that worked on electrification of villages that had no power for 70 long years.”
The state will go to polls on May 12 and the counting of votes is scheduled for May 15. The BJP has declared its state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa and JD(S), H D Kumaraswamy as their chief ministerial faces. Both have been the state's chief minister.
Politics of Caste
“Political leaders might be hurling words such as communalism, secularism, and opportunism at each other, but the common thread here is that all of us are pandering to caste politics,” a BJP official said. The major chunk of candidates fielded by the three main contesting parties are the Congress, BJP, and the JD(S), are the Lingayats and Vokkaligas. While the Congress has fielded 49 Lingayats and 46 Vokkaligas, the BJP has fielded 68 Lingayats, and 38 Vokkaligas, and the JD(S) has 41 Lingayats and 55 Vokkaligas in the race. The Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs), who collectively form the largest caste population are also important for three parties.
Political analyst Narayana A said, “Caste is absolutely important. Examine the Karnataka assembly polls from any angle, you will realise that caste occupies centre stage. Only caste calculations are being spoken at the grassroots. Kurubas, who form a major chunk among other backward castes (OBCs), has solidly stood behind the Congress only because of chief minister Siddaramaiah, who belongs to the community.” The focus has primarily been on stitching caste alliances from the very beginning, and not so much on the selling of the development agenda. While the BJP has not chosen any Muslim candidate, the Congress has 17 Muslims, and the JD(S) has 19.
A Muslim leader said, “Muslim consolidation is happening in a strong way this polls, something not many are talking about. Muslims will make a huge difference this time.”
Five richest candidates from Congress
As per data released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), citing the self-sworn affidavits of candidates furnished before the Election Commission of India, the top five richest candidates in the race seeking re-elections have seen their assets increase since the last polls. It has cited that the richest MLA witnesses a whopping increase of 234 per cent in the last five years. Assets of 184 re-contesting MLAs have increased by £1.73 million on an average. The data pointed out that the top five richest re-contesting candidates are from the ruling Congress. They are the State Energy Minister DK Shivakumar, N Nagaraju, Shamanur Shivshankarappa, Priyakrishna, and Deshpande Raghunath Vishwanath. These men have seen their assets rise by at least over £10 million in the last give years. DK, contesting from Kanakapura constituency, had assets worth £25.1 million in 2013, which has today turned to £84 million. N Nagaraju, contesting from Hosakate constituency had assets worth £47 million, which is now over £101.5 million. Shamanur's assets were only worth £6.7 million in 2013, which has grown to over £18.3 million.
Out of 184 re-contesting MLAs in the upcoming election, 108 candidates are from the ruling Congress, 49 are from BJP, 24 are from JD-S, 2 are Independent candidates and one is from Namma Congress.
