Karnataka Elections: Lessons For The BJP

The Karnataka election results came as no surprise and from the start the Congress was expected to do well.

At the start of the elections, many said that the BJP would hit just the 30-40 mark. However it managed to get d 64 starts and this improvement in performance has been largely attributed to the rallies of the Prime Minister and placating B S Yediyurappa. This ended up in many Lingayats voting for the BJP, but the party has in general not performed up to the mark in the seats where this community is dominant.

There are many lessons for the BJP to learn from this election. First and foremost, it did not do much to address the corruption charges that were levelled by the Congress. Some watchers say that the party should not have tinkered with the state leadership ahead of the elections. This could have a bearing in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, where leaders like Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Vasundhara Raje still hold a sway.

This may also bolster the Congress to a large extent. The Karnataka leadership has shown that it has the hunger to work and that was not evident in the BJP's campaign. The Congress would work similarly in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan and the BJP may not find it so easy after all.

The BJP would also have to get its act together ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Karnataka is an important state and the BJP holds 26 of the 28 seats.

The state BJP leadership should expect a repeat of what happened in 2019 and depend so heavily on the central leadership. It would need to quickly get its act together and get to the ground right away and prepare for the elections to be held in 2024.