Does Karnataka vote on caste alone: A look at the other issues

The dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections were announced on Wednesday by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Karnataka will vote on May 10 and the results would be out on May 13, making it a short turnover election.

While the Janata Dal (S) is in the mix, the real battle is between the Congress and BJP. While caste and social engineering are key aspects to winning the Karnataka battle, there are other issues as well, which will decide the outcome the of the Karnataka Assembly elections.

Social engineering:

The Congress is heavily banking on the votes of the schedule castes, Vokkaligas and Kurubas. It would also rely heavily on the Muslim population who constitute 11 per cent of the population. The BJP is wooing its natural voter base of Lingayats hard, but is also trying to bolster its fortunes in the Vokkaliga belt, which has traditionally voted for the Congress and JD(S).

Anti-incumbency:

Karnataka has never voted a party back to power and the state has always seen a change in the power dynamics since the past several years. The BJP is battling anti-incumbency and is hoping to repeat what happened in Uttar Pradesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has toured the state extensively in a bid to beat the anti-incumbency factor. Karnataka is also important for the BJP in the context of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as there are 28 seats for grabs and the BJP currently holds 26. The Congress however is confident that it can ride on the anti-incumbency issue. The party has also made the sole focus of its campaign around the corruption of the BJP government.

Reservation:

Recently the Cabinet led by Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai increased the quotas for SC and STs by 2 and 4 per cent. It also did away with the reservation for the Muslims and divided the 4 per cent between the two most dominant castes in the states-the Vokkaligas and Lingayats. The Congress however believes that this has come too late in the day.

Freebies:

This time around the freebie packages include insurance policies, cookers, pilgrimages, grinders among others. While some of the items being doled out look like they are aimed at wooing the woman voters, noted psephologist Dr. Sandeep Shastri is of the view that it may not work.

Guarantees:

The Congress ahead of the elections had promised families headed by women, free electricity, grains to voters and a monthly dole to farmers. While this ploy worked for the Congress in Himachal Pradesh, the BJP however does not subscribe to this view.

Development:

There have been numerous inaugurations in the past several months by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Bommai. Since January the PM has visited Karnataka eight times and many more such visits are on the anvil. While many projects have been launched, new projects amounting to Rs 1 lakh crore including the Rs 8,500 crore Mysuru-Bengaluru Expressway has been inaugurated.