How Rahul Gandhi cornered the BJP in Karnataka with one 'surgical strike'

The Karnataka government on Wednesday decided to waive farmer loans partially.

With one clean masterstroke under the garb of loan waiver, the Congress in Karnataka has rendered BJP in the state helpless. The partial loan waiver announced by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday was a result of Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi's strategy to corner the BJP ahead of the 2018 assembly elections.

Rahul Gandhi's 'surgical strike' against BJP

The discussion to waive off farmers loans is said to have taken place when Rahul Gandhi had visited Bengaluru to launch the commemorative publication of National Herald. While the vice president of the Congress did not press on Siddaramaiah to waive off loans, he had reiterated the need to win over the farmer community especially at a time when farmers were up in arms against the government in BJP-ruled states.

Siddaramaiah, who has presented the most number of budgets in the state was against the loan waiver considering its financial implications on the exchequer. With pressure building up on him to waive off loans to 'help the farming community' Siddaramaiah chalked out a middle path. Instead of waiving off loans completely, the Chief Minister chose to announce a partial loan waiver. Now small farm loans up to Rs 50,000 availed till June 20 have been waived off. This announcement, however, comes with a rider. Loans only from cooperative societies have been waived off.

How Congress snatched the BJP's poll agenda

The State President of the BJP, B S Yeddyurappa is unhappy about two things. With the loan waiver announcement his plans to capitalise on drought, farmer loans have been flushed. He had announced that he would go on a satyagraha in July demanding loan waiver. The Congress has skillfully rendered his efforts useless. Secondly, by partially waiving off loans in cooperative societies, the Congress has now put the onus on the BJP government in the Centre to waive off loans from nationalised and commercial banks. If Yeddyurappa sits on a Satyagraha, it now has to be against his own party that is in power at the centre.

Karnataka BJP is now in a fix

Despite the loan waiver being partial, the Congress has managed to win over the farming community that can breath easy for now. With the partial loan waiver, the government has successfully reduced the burden on the exchequer as well as sent out a message that it wants to help small farmers who are genuinely facing troubled times. The BJP's claim of the loan waiver being announced keeping elections in mind is true but so is the fact that the BJP was hoping to make loan waiver their election agenda.

The partial loan waiver at the cost of Rs 8,165 crores is expected to benefit 22 lakh farmers. However, the Siddaramaiah government under the guidance of Rahul Gandhi has put the onus of waiving loans of Rs 41,800 crore on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre. With Finance Minister Arun Jaitley categorically stating that the centre would not waive off loans, the BJP in Karnataka is in a fix. Farm loan, the ammunition that the BJP was gearing up to use against the Congress during the election campaign has been turned against them.

OneIndia News