Revenge Is Sweet! BJP's Karnataka Sweep Widens Gateway To South of India

Even BJP leaders possibly never expected Karnataka바카라�s saffron sweep. An emphatic win of 25 out of the state바카라�s 28 Lok Sabha seats which trampled several veteran politicians바카라�H.D. Deve Gowda, Mallikarjuna Kharge, K.H. Muniyappa--to push open the 바카라�gateway to the South바카라� even wider. The irony of the BJP victory couldn바카라�t have been more stark바카라�May 23 also marked Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy바카라�s first anniversary in office.

The big question is바카라�can Kumara­swamy바카라�s Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition government hold together? Already, old faultlines within the coalition바카라�ones papered over until elections바카라�have shown up in the last couple of weeks as Congress and JD(S) leaders squabbled openly. 바카라�It is up to the Con­gress-JD(S) to spell out what they will do next,바카라� former CM and BJP strongman B.S. Yeddiurappa told reporters. 바카라�We will wait and watch,바카라� he said.

For Yeddiurappa, revenge is sweet. He had hastily바카라�and unsuccessfu­lly바카라�tried to form the government when the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections threw up a hung assembly even though the BJP didn바카라�t have a majority. Besides, the scenario a year ago was framed in a very different context: at Kumara­sw­amy바카라�s swearing-in, political leaders from across the spectrum바카라�Mayawati, Mamata, Chandrababu Naidu, Akhi­lesh Yadav, Sitaram Yech­ury바카라�desce­nded on Bangalore to back the Janata Dal (Secular)-Congress coalition, and by extension, the idea of a mahaghatbandan.

However, going into the Lok Sabha polls, most observers were sceptical of the Congress-JD(S) alliance바카라�s chances, given that they are fierce rivals in southern Karnataka. Finally, the BJP has not only retained its grip over nor­thern Karnataka but also pocketed new seats in the south thanks to the straight fight바카라�Chikka­ballapura, for inst­ance, where Cong­ress veteran M. Veerappa Moily lost, and in Kolar, where it unsea­ted K.H. Muni­ya­ppa. The BJP바카라�s highest tally till now had come a decade ago, in 2009, when it won 19 Lok Sabha seats (it had won 17 in 2014).

The Congress and JD(S) had won nine and two seats respectively in 2014, but their individual tallies now stand at a dismal one apiece. 바카라�In this election, the Modi factor worked for the first time in a decisive way in Karnataka,바카라� says political analyst A. Narayana. 바카라�Second, the coalition partners damaged each other바카라�s cause,바카라� he adds.

Indeed, the JD(S) won only in its pocketborough Hassan, which Deve Gowda had vacated for his grandson Prajwal Revanna, while the Congress바카라�s lone victory came in Bangalore Rural. The JD(S) party patriarch lost the election in Tumkur바카라�again, a seat where a victory depended on the alliance. Meanwhile, in Mandya, a district where the JD(S) has a formidable presence, Kumaraswamy바카라�s son Nikhil lost to Sumalatha, the widow of Congress­man-filmstar M.H. Ambareesh, who stood as an Independent candidate. 바카라�They (Congress-JDS) may have done better without an alliance,바카라� reckons pol­itical commentator Narendar Pani. Some leaders admitted as much.

Initial reactions from senior leaders in both parties were that the results were unexpected. But there were weeks-old indications that things hadn바카라�t gone as planned바카라�for instance, minister G.T. Deve Gowda바카라�s apprehension that JD(S) voters may have voted for the BJP in Mysore where the alliance had fielded a Congress candidate. Just last week, as the exit polls were aired, Congress legislator Roshan Baig turned on his own party leaders, blaming them for a poor showing. Of course, there have been reb­ellious leaders all along바카라�chiefly, Umesh Jadhav, who had resigned in March as MLA to fight Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge in the Lok Sabha election at Gulbarga. Kharge, who had been undefeated in an election since 1972, lost the seat.

바카라�Leaders of both parties will hold a discussion about the loss of JDS-Congress coalition candidates,바카라� said Kumarasw­amy in a statement. Over the past year, his govern­ment has weathered several threats바카라�with a slim majority in the Karnataka assembly, the JD(S)-Con­gress coalition has had to watch over its flock of MLAs, especially with the BJP snapping at its heels. The BJP is still short of numbers. Karnataka바카라�s politics looks headed for an uncertain phase.

By Ajay Sukumaran in Bangalore