The ruling Karnataka Congress party's “grand zero” performance in the Legislative Council elections has not only become a “national embarrassment” because it failed miserably despite switching from EVMs to ballot papers, but the success of the BJP-JD(S) alliance in these polls will give the Congress party nightmares ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections.
The Congress won just one of the 28 Legislative Council seats for which elections were held in four states, but Karnataka's results began “trending” on social media and national television channels because Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had insisted on, and got, the state election body to adopt ballot papers in place of EVMs to highlight his party's “vote chori” campaign.
A hugely disappointed Shivakumar admitted, “We did not expect these results,” adding, “We accept the people's decision. There are lessons to learn. We will find out what went wrong.” But the two stalwarts of the JD(S) and BJP, HD Kumaraswamy and BS Yediyurappa, were ecstatic. While Kumaraswamy said, “It is the people's befitting reply to the misrule of the Congress-led government in Karnataka,” Yediyurappa thundered, “In all upcoming elections, we will fight them together. We will do all it takes to oust this corrupt government.”
Shivakumar's multiple headaches
Shivakumar, who replaced Siddaramaiah as Karnataka Chief Minister on June 3 in none-too-happy circumstances, has found the going tough on multiple fronts. Even four months after taking charge, he has neither been able to complete the cabinet formation exercise nor get a firm grip on the administration. The worst drought in over five decades has left the water reservoirs in a precarious state, leading to poor cultivation and farmers in distress, besides low energy levels that threaten to disrupt power supply and economic activities. The state is also faced with constant directions from the Supreme Court to release Cauvery water to neighbouring Tamil Nadu “as per the tribunal's award.”
Politically, too, Shivakumar is mired in trouble as a rift has developed between him and Siddaramaiah over a mysterious “sting operation” involving the latter. While opposition leaders have been gleefully accusing Shivakumar of having “instigated” the sting operation allegedly involving a woman and targeting Siddaramaiah to keep him in check, Siddaramaiah's minister-son, Dr Yatindra, has sought an impartial investigation into the “involvement of any Congress party functionaries” in the alleged scam.
Siddaramaiah, who has been invited to participate in the INDI Alliance's mega protest rally in New Delhi on Sunday against the Election Commission of India's “flawed SIR exercise across the country” and to demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, has said that he has sought an appointment with Rahul Gandhi on November 2 to “explain” his position on the allegations made against him. Sources close to him say that he would also express his misgivings to Rahul about Shivakumar's possible role.
Season of worries for Congress
Considering that it was the joint effort of Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar that led to the Congress winning a handsome majority of 136 seats during the 2023 Assembly polls, the growing trust deficit between the two top leaders spells greater worry for the Congress after the “MLC poll debacle”. It is important to note that, though the voting numbers were small compared to those in Assembly constituencies, the four teachers' and graduates' MLC seats were spread over 19 districts and 133 Assembly constituencies, including the capital city of Bengaluru - a fairly representative sample of the entire state.
In 2023, apart from riding on its vigorous campaign against the “corruption and misrule” of the then BJP government led by Basavaraj Bommai, the Congress benefited from a three-way split in votes among the BJP, Congress and JD(S). The BJP and JD(S) joined hands in the Lok Sabha polls held a year later, in 2024, and reaped rich dividends, winning 17 and two seats, respectively, while the Congress had to be satisfied with just nine seats. Significantly, the combined vote share of the BJP and JD(S) had surged to 51.66%, compared with 45.43% for the Congress.
There are more electoral tests in the offing in the near future, as the much-delayed elections to the enlarged Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) are scheduled to be held in December, to be followed by state-wide elections to the district, taluk and gram panchayats, as well as local municipal bodies, in March.
Scandals rock Shivakumar
While the BJP is in a resurgent mood after an impressive response to its 10-day “Ballari Chalo” padayatra, led by its state president, BY Vijayendra, against the KPSC exams scandal and the Rs 187-crore Valmiki ST Development Corporation scandal in September in northern Karnataka, the JD(S), under Kumaraswamy, is also going hammer and tongs, accusing the Shivakumar government of grabbing farmers' lands in Bidadi and Kanakapura in the name of development projects. He recently released documents claiming that Shivakumar had “acquired” 300 acres of prime land from Ashok Keni, the controversial promoter of the failed Bengaluru-Mysuru highway project, and registered them in his daughter Aishwarya's name. Shivakumar, commenting later, defended the deal, saying, “My daughter is also a businesswoman. Can she not do business?”
It appears that the corruption allegations against the BJP that unseated its government in the 2023 Assembly polls are coming full circle to haunt the Shivakumar government well ahead of the Assembly elections, which are less than two years away.
(The author is a senior journalist)
Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author
