Why Congress-JDS will help BJP in Karnataka?
Bengaluru, Mar 18: As the results of the Karnataka Assembly elections poured in 2018 a narrative was built that said Congress and JDS would have registered massive victory had they forged a pre-poll alliance. The subsequent victory in the Bellary, Mandya Lok Sabha by-elections, (though experts do not agree with this reason) strengthened the belief that the alliance can defeat the BJP. However, the scenario had changed a lot since the by-elections.
In 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress got three seats more than 2009; they won nine seats with a voting percentage of 40.80 per cent. After the bypoll in Bellary, Congress tally rose to 10. The Congress will be appreciated for retaining the present seats for following reasons.
1.
Discontent
with
coalition:
Holding
onto
power
even
after
the
BJP
got
104
seats
in
the
last
assembly
elections
has
sent
a
wrong
signal
to
the
people
of
Karnataka.
JDS
with
37+
(1
BSP)
MLAs
forged
a
post-poll
alliance
with
Congress
(80
MLAs).
Unfortunately,
BJP
being
single
largest
party
with
104
seats
fell
short
of
majority
and
now
in
opposition.
State
BJP
chief
BS
Yeddyurappa
till
last
minute
tried
to
bring
a
few
Congress
and
JDS
MLAs
into
the
saffron
party,
but
failed.
Grapavine
has
that
the
alliance
is
likely
end
after
the
Lok
Sabha
elections.
Several
Congress
MLAs
are
in
touch
with
BJP
leaders.
2.
Pulwama
attack
and
the
IAF
strike:
The
dastardly
attack
on
CRPF
jawans
in
Pulwama
shook
the
conscience
of
the
country.
The
Modi
government
was
under
pressure
to
respond
to
the
attack.
Amid
call
for
war
against
the
IAF
strike
on
Balakot
has
pacified
the
resentment
among
the
voters.
And
the
successful
release
of
Wing
Commandar
Abhinandan
Varthaman
has
won
accolades
for
the
PM
Modi.
Also,
the
demand
for
the
evidence
on
casualties
by
the
opposition
parties
is
likely
to
work
in
favour
of
the
BJP.
Mandya Lok Sabha: Sumalatha Ambareesh to contest as Independent candidate
3.
Lack
of
candidates
to
take
on
BJP
bastions
Congress' plans
of
winning
more
than
20
Lok
Sabha
seats
has
hit
a
roadblock
due
to
lack
of
candidates.
Even
though,
Congress
has
to
contest
only
on
20
states
out
of
8
still
find
it
difficult
to
find
suitable
candidates
to
take
on
BJP.
For
instance,
no
Congress
leader
is
interested
in
fighting
from
Bengaluru
South
where
late
BJP
leader
Ananath
Kumar's
wife
Tejaswini
is
contesting
from.
Voters
in
Coastal
and
North
Karnataka
are
rock
solid
behind
the
BJP.
On
the
other
hand,
BJP's
ticket
distribution
in
Karnataka
is
free
of
confusion.
State
BJP
chief
BS
Yeddyurappa
had
declared
that
no
sitting
MLAs
would
get
ticket
for
Lok
Sabha
elections
and
all
the
sitting
MPs
would
continue.
4.
Disappointment
in
Congress
Already
Tumkuru
and
Bangalore
North
MLAs
are
unhappy
with
Congress
for
sharing
these
two
seats
with
the
JDS.
Bellary
district
has
changed
completely
from
the
last
bypoll.
All
is
not
well
in
Bellary
Congress,
after
Congress
MLAs
JN
Ganesh
and
Anand
Singh
were
involved
in
an
ugly
brawl.
In
North
Karnataka,
Congress
MLA
from
Umesh
Jadahav,
has
left
the
party
to
content
as
BJP
candidate
from
Gulbarga
against
senior
Congress
leader
Mallikarjun
Kharge.
In
Belgaum
district,
Ramesh
Jarakiholi,
who
was
about
to
join
BJP,
is
unhappy
with
the
Congress
for
denying
him
a
Cabinet
berth.
5.
This
election
is
about
Modi
vs
Modi
Clearly,
this
election
is
all
about
Modi
vs
Modi.
Congress
President
Rahul
Gandhi's
attack
over
Rafale
deal,
demonetisation
and
job
loss
not
enough
to
win
perception
battle
in
general
and
specifically
in
Karnataka.
Rahul
Gandhi's
posture
as
leaders
of
chaotic
'Mahaghatbandhan'
may
not
gone
down
well
with
voters
though
he's
matured
as
a
politician
over
five
years.
People
are
convinced
that
Rahul
Gandhi
is
not
a
match
to
PM
Modi
neither
in
experience
nor
in
charisma.