'Bajrang Bali,' 40 per cent commission: How the campaign in Karnataka panned out

It has been a hectic election and there have been a variety of issues that have made headlines.

The election campaign wound down on May 8 ahead of the May 10 elections. The results will be out on May 13. The battle is between the ruling BJP, Congress and JD(S).

The major face-off has however been between the BJP and Congress and both parties have accused each other of corruption. The first half of the campaign witnessed a battle between the BJP and Congress and both parties stuck to the corruption plank. The Congress in particular was aggressive on this front accusing the BJP of being a 40 per cent commission government.

The campaign plank however took a major turn when Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge made a personal remark on Prime Minister calling him a poisonous snake., The comment was followed by a remark made his son Priyank Kharge, who went on to call the PM a 'nalayak.'

This changed the poll pitch a bit and everyone wondered why the Congress which had decided not to make a personal remark went on to do so.

The campaign took a further turn when the Congress came out with its manifesto. In the manifesto the Congress said that if it is voted to power, it would ban organisations such as the Bajrang Dal and Popular Front of India. To be sure the Popular Front of India has already been banned by the Centre in September 2022.

The entire poll pitch changed once the Congress released its manifesto. Whether this would be a game changer for the BJP or not, it is yet to be seen. The BJP however changed the tone of the campaign by making Lord Hanuman centric to the campaign.

The Congress on the other hand went on a defensive and said that if voted to power it would construct Hanuman Temples across the state.

The campaign also revolved heavily on the four promises made by the Congress, which includes the supply of free 200 units of power.

The JD(S) which has always been seen as a kingmaker in state, kept its campaign focused around health, education, agriculture and employment for youth. The only aim of the party is to improvement the lives of the people, JD(S) boss, H D Kumaraswamy had said through out his campaign.

There were a couple more issues that made headlines. They included the 4 per cent reservation that was taken away from the Muslims and divided equally between the Vokkaligas and Lingayats. The Congress however has decide that it would reverse this decision if voted to power. As per an internal survey, this could benefit the Congress as 60 per cent of the Muslims are inclined towards the party.

And last but not the least, the issue of reservation was at its peak. A former chief minister, a man aligned to the Sangh, Jagadish Shettar quit the BJP after being denied a ticket. This was one of the most shocking events during the elections. After him, it was Laxman Savadi another Lingayat leader who quit BJP and joined the Congress. It is being said in political circles that these two exits could have an impact on the way Lingayats would vote in the Karnataka Elections. The Lingayats according to unofficial data constitute 17 per cent of the population in Karnataka and are considered a swing factor in the state.