BANGALORE: The BJP in Karnataka got a positive vote in the just concluded Assembly elections, states a report prepared by the state unit of BJP. It was submitted to the party'snational executive committee which commenced its two-day session from June 1.
?After the collapse of the BJP-Janata Dal (S) coalition government in November 2006, the people always had the option to choose Congress. The Janata Dal (S) had already fallen in the eyes of the people. That they chose the BJP, means they have made a positive choice,? states the report submitted by the state unit president, D.V. Sadananda Gowda to the national executive.
Explaining how the party could make a qualitative difference in the mind-set of the people to make a positive ambience for the party, the report stated, ?The BJP could package neatly its electoral strategy by combining three factors, (i) the BJP can deliver the goods if voted to power, on the basis of the earlier remarkable performance of Shri Yeddyurappa and his team, (ii) dignified behaviour of the ministers, leaders and cadres, (iii) only the BJP can provide a stable government. Our argument that the Congress-kind of stability has led to stagnancy was well taken. All these points enabled the people to make a positive choice in our favour.?
The report further states that the betrayal by the JD(S) was a crucial contributory factor. ?It would be unfair to the decades of service and sacrifice of thousands of party workers, if we attribute our victory only to the betrayal by JD(S). The issue of betrayal gave a cutting edge to our campaign. We took a conscious stand that betrayal is nothing but absence of morality in public life and not just transfer of power, per se. This caught the imagination of both the urban-based intelligentsia and the rural populace,? the report stated.
However, in a clever move, the BJP had not raised the betrayal issue strongly during the first phase of the elections in the Vokkaliga-dominated Old Mysore region, fearing the backlash from this community. It, however, took the betrayal issue to the peak in the third phase of the polls where it reaped maximum benefit.
The report further states that the BJP got its electoral arithmetic and social chemistry right with a proportionate balance of all sections of society represented in the choice of candidates. ?Admitting leaders with stature, credibility and strong social roots enabled the party to expand, socially and geographically. The organisational machinery was kept well-oiled which played a vital role in fighting the electoral battle,? the report stated.
The report also mentions of its inability to open its legislative account in five districts namely, Chamarajanagar, Ramanagara, Hassan, Mandya and Chikkaballapur, due to clear polarisation of politics between Congress and the Janata Dal (S).
