These elections, the battle in Karnataka is not just for votes

Battle lines have been drawn to conquer the rural hinterland of Karnataka. This is a war for the very survival of Yeddyurappa. His claims that he would move to national politics after this term have strengthened reports that the BJP high command has allowed him to live on borrowed time. 

The chief minister has been heli-hopping without pause. He has been leaving no stone unturned to convince the electorate about the achievements of his government. Yeddyurappa hopes that the Bhagya Lakshmi rallies to distribute insurance bonds for girls and the distribution of sarees a month ago to women all over the state would have earned him the electorate’s gratitude, which could translate to votes.

With extraordinary determination, the chief minister battles to win the trust of the people, who have felt betrayed by all the charges of corruption against a man voted to power on the promise of clean and transparent governance. State BJP president KS Eshwarappa, however, puts up a brave face, dismissing apprehensions as images painted by the media.

“The BJP has consolidated its influence far deeper into rural areas. It has launched several pro-farmer and pro-women programmes. The cycle for school children scheme has benefited almost every house in the rural areas. The triangular fight would also benefit the BJP, as the opposition votes would be divided,” says Eshwarappa.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G Parameshwar, leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah and JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy too battle to win the electorate’s trust. The Congress scored a big victory in taluk and zilla panchayat polls five years ago, bagging almost 19 ZPs. However, the reality is that voters usually prefer to vote the party that is in power in the taluk and zilla panchayat polls. This is thus a rare opportunity for the BJP to dispel the view that its influence is limited to the state’s urban areas.

These polls are also a test by fire for the newly elected KPCC president G Parameshwar. The party high command has chosen a young leader with a clean image to revive the fortunes of the party in the state with an eye to returning to power in the next assembly elections.

The JD(S) shows signs of spoiling Congress prospects. HD Kumaraswamy has wrenched much of the credit for ‘exposing’ the alleged misdeeds of the BJP government. His efforts to woo all the Janata Parivar leaders back into the JD(S) have shown signs of partial success. A recent DNA survey in Bangalore showed that HD Kumaraswamy was the most preferred chief minister candidate in the state.

However, Kumaraswamy is also faced with the challenge of converting his individual charisma into votes to project the JD(S) as the right alternative to the BJP. “Both the national parties have failed to protect the interests of the state; the JD(S) is the only party that can fulfil the aspirations of the people of Karnataka. That will be reflected in the results,” said a sanguine Kumaraswamy.

Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Ramanagaram, Chitradurga, Kolar, Chikballapur, Shimoga, Tumkur, Bidar, Bellary, Raichur and Yadgir districts will exercise their franchise in the first phase of polling on December 26.