Karnataka Assembly elections: The Modi effect

Karnataka will go to elections in May. Home Minister Amit Shah had said that PM Modi will be the face of the party going into the elections.

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka began its election drive on a cautious note.

It was hounded with problems with allegations of corruption, demonstrations by the Panchamshali Lingayats, just to name a few.

The face of the party in the run up to the elections was also a debated one with many raising questions whether chief minister Basavaraj Bommai could lead the election campaign.

Most of those problems have been ironed out, with B S Yediyurappa leading from the front and Union Home Minister Amit Shah announcing that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be the face of the BJP in Karnataka.

Looking at the situation on the ground, the BJP which began on a defensive mode now appears to be on the offensive, following the successive visits by Prime Minister Modi. The mood is upbeat and the announcement of a barrage of projects have put the BJP back in track.

The biggest challenge for the BJP however remains anti-incumbency. Karnataka is a state that has re-elect a party only once. It was Ramakrishna Hegde who came back as chief minister for the second time in 1985.

With the help of PM Modi, the BJP hopes to convert anti-incumbency into incumbency. PM Modi has made six visits to Karnataka since January. He has visited almost all regions inn the state. The PM was in the Old Mysuru Region last week to inaugurate the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway. He held a successful roadshow in Mandya. The BJP is hoping to make inroads in this region, which has been the traditional stronghold of the JD(S) and Congress.

Shah had said at the start of the campaign that if the BJP has to win big it has to do well in this region which has 60 odd seats.

PM Modi has been very clear in all the addresses that he made during his visits. The thrust is on development. The aim is to cater to all sections of Karnataka.

In recent assembly elections, the thrust of political parties has been very caste-centric. The development push by the PM aims at breaking that barrier and the aim to get all sections of the state to vote for the BJP.

There has also been a big development push in areas in Northern Karnataka. There have been complaints for long that this part of the state is underdeveloped and all the benefits are being reaped by those living in the southern part of the state. During his visits, the PM has made a big push for development in Northern Karnataka and this has been seen as a significant move.

There has also been a lot of emphasis on Kalyana-Karnataka which was formerly known as Hyderabad-Karnataka. Under this region falls Bidar, Kalaburgi, Raichur, Yadgir, Ballard, Vijayanagara and Koppal. While many parts of this region are the strongholds of the BJP, it is also the region from where Congress president, Mallikarjuna Kharge hails. While he may have lost the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress is hoping that he being elevated as president may have some impact on the party's outcome in this region.

In this region, the PM has showcased development and social welfare programmes. In January the PM made two visits to this region, the first one being to Hubbali in January 12. The BJP realises that the Congress is a force to reckon with in this region and hence the push is high this year around.

When asked about the impact of the Prime Minister's campaign, prominent BJP leader from Karnataka, S Prakash told OneIndia that these rallies are just the beginning and many more are expected in the days to come. PM Modi is the start attraction and his campaign will have a positive and significant influence on the BJP's campaign.

The PM's rallies will inspire us to work more. They make the workers on the ground more active. We have two leaders-PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah who can raise the campaign levels and they are putting in all efforts, Prakash says.

On the impact for 2024, Prakash says that the amount of work the government has done in the past eight years, will have a positive impact on the party's prospects in next year's Lok Sabha elections. We will retain all seats that we won in 2019, Prakash also pointed out.