Karnataka Assembly Polls/Cover Story : The Big Battleground

Ending days of speculation, the Election Commission has announced that Karnataka Assembly elections will be held on May 12, while the counting of votes will be held on May 15. Explaining the reason for delay in announcing the poll dates, Chief Election Commissioner OP Rawat said that the Commission has prepared the Schedules for holding general elections after taking into consideration all relevant aspects like climatic conditions, academic calendar, major festivals, prevailing law and order situation in the State, availability of Central Police Forces, time needed for movement, transportation and timely deployment of forces and in-depth assessment of other relevant ground realities. It will be a single phase poll in the State. VVPATs will be used along with EVMs in all 56,696 Polling Stations of 224 Assembly Constituencies to enhance the transparency and credibility of the elections. On a pilot basis, VVPAT from One Polling Station in each Assembly Constituency will be randomly selected to count VVPAT paper slips for verification of the result obtained from the control unit.

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From corruption to recently played Lingayat card, all over development, water woes, growing Jihadi activities and law and order situation in the State are the critical issues that will shape the outcome of the election. Karnataka is known for changing the Governments every five years. Though the BJP has emerged as a major challenger for the Congress in the State, like other parts of the country, the aspired kingmaker’s role by Janata Dal Secular (JDS) cannot be completely neglected. Though the JD (S) has a constant vote-share in the State, it is not enough to convert into seats. With the depleting organisational structure and lack of visible leadership on the ground, it is expected to lose some ground. Who has gained out of this negative vote-swing will largely decide the outcome of the election.
As Karnataka being the last major State with Congress rule in South, it is a battle of survival for the grand old party in the region. It is also a test for Rahul Gandhi, as the legitimacy of his new found love for Hindu pilgrimage to shed the image of being pro-minority will be adjudged by the people. The regional leadership of Congress in the form of Siddaramaiah is also being questioned on many fronts, from corruption to divisive tactics by the opposition. The contradictory signals by the ruling Congress, Rahul Gandhi visiting the Sringeri Mutt and Siddaramaiah openly indulging in divisive appeasement politics, are also being tested. All in all, Congress will put its entire strength to save the last bastion in the South. While criss-crossing the State, not able to connect with the masses and unable to pronounce important personalities like Sir M Vivesvaraya has turned out to be a major embarrassment for the Congress party, in the State where the Chief Minister is trying to play the regional identity card.
This election is also a trial for new political alignment that is taking shape at the national level. If Congress fails to take entire opposition along in Karnataka, it will be a question mark on the ability of the party to lead at the national level.   
 The BJP National President Amit Shah is leaving no stone unturned to continue his winning stride for the party. In his recent visit, almost parallel to Rahul Gandhi, he called Siddaramaiah as AHINDU. He alleged that there is no programme towards the welfare of the Veerashaiva and Lingayat community but a “conspiracy” to stop Yeddyurappa, considered a Lingayat strongman, from becoming the Chief Minister. Alleging that Siddaramaiah even tried to bring “mutts” and temples under the government control, the BJP chief said it was given up following opposition to the move.  He also raised the issue of distress of arecanut growers whom the State Government has failed to provide the minimum support price. Declaring BS Yeddyurappa as the Chief Ministerial candidate, Amit Shah gave a call to throw out Siddaramaiah in the ensuing poll. Shah regretted that about 100 schemes of the Central government did not reach the people of the state as its the Congress government did not implement them.
 It will be a hard-fought battle and Siddaramaiah Government has an abysmal record to defend. Whether his ploy of fuelling regional sentiments and employing divisive tactics would help, we will come to know only on May 15. Ultimately, the ability of a party to mobilise voters to the booth that matters and the BJP certainly have an upper hand in this.