BJP is set to wrest power from Congress in southern state of Karnataka,
BANGALURU/ NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party is set to wrest power from the Congress party in the southern state of Karnataka, a win that will give his ruling party momentum going into the 2019 general election.
The BJP is poised to form a government in Karnataka, this would also mean the grand old party Congress is now reduced to just three States — Punjab, Mizoram and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
A victory for the BJP will give it the necessary momentum in the assembly elections to be held later this year and, most importantly, in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. At the same time, Congress’ defeat would make the going really tough for the party with the cadres’ morale plummeting ahead of the upcoming elections
The BJP was leading in 117 seats in the 224-member assembly. The Congress party, which has governed Karnataka for the last five years, was ahead in 70 seats, it said. Regional party Janata Dal (Secular) was leading in 44 seats. A party needs 112 seats for a majority in the state assembly.
Winning Karnataka — a state of that is home to Bengaluru, the IT hub of India — will boost the BJP’s confidence ahead of the general election. And it means the Congress party, which ruled India for most of its independent history, now only controls one large Indian state, making it more difficult to revive the party’s momentum.It demonstrates the BJP has popular support outside its traditional base of support in north and western India.
The BJP, keen to retain power in a state it won once in 2008 and which it sees as a gateway to southern India, invested heavily in the campaign. The Congress, knowing well that it cannot afford to lose Karnataka, one of the only two big states where it is in office, carried out a highly spirited campaign. Prime Minister Narendra Modi held 21 mega rallies for the BJP – six more than the 15 originally planned.
“Although the election was fought on local issues, the BJP’s performance will put to rest growing speculation, particularly in the aftermath of recent by-election losses in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, of the party losing political momentum due to factors such as mounting rural distress and poor job creation . “Where the primary electoral contest is between the BJP and the Congress, the BJP remains the party of choice.”
After the defeat in Karnataka, a state of more than 61 million people, Congress is left with just Punjab, apart from the small hill state of Mizoram and federally-administered Puducherry. After formation of BJP government in Karnataka, it will control 21 states with alliance partners out of 29, a record for the party. The BJP and Congress will next fight in December elections in three key states currently ruled by the BJP — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, Newly appointed Information and Broadcasting Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi and questioned his leadership skills.”This is the 15th defeat for Rahul Gandhi and he is announcing himself as a PM candidate. This says a lot about the Congress,” he said
“The Sangha Parivar cadres have helped us enormously. In certain regions like coastal Karnataka, Parivar has helped us a lot,” said Ram Madhav, national general secretary of the BJP.
“Rahul Gandhi did his best, but it is we who have lost the elections. We, the local leadership, should have encashed it in a proper way. It is because of us that we lost, said Congress campaign committee chairman DK Shivakumar.
The BJP, keen to retain power in a state it won once in 2008 and which it sees as a gateway to southern India, invested heavily in the campaign. The Congress, knowing well that it cannot afford to lose Karnataka, one of the only two big states where it is in office, carried out a highly spirited campaign.
(With Agency Inputs ).
