Local flavour to thwart BJP’s national campaign in Karnataka | Bengaluru News – Times of India
BENGALURU: A key theme of campaigns by Karnataka Congress brass is the portrayal of how unimpressive the Union govt has been, especially in dealing with matters pertaining to the state. Although this is a national , Congress is peddling local issues to ensure it returns with a decent number of seats in the Lok Sabha elections later this month.
From defections to internal rivalry and from BJP candidates’ poor image to sympathy for its contestants, Congress is banking highly on these constituency-level factors to fetch them votes.
For instance, in Chitradurga, Hassan, Uttara Kannada, Bagalkot, and Bangalore South, the party is hoping that its candidates will win if voters ‘sympathise’ with its candidates.
While Chitradurga candidate BN Chandrappa contested the 2019 elections and fell in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi popularity wave, Hassan candidate Shreyas Patel, Bangalore South candidate Sowmya Reddy, Uttara Kannada candidate Anjali Nimbalkar, and Bagalkot candidate HR Algur all lost last year’s assembly elections by narrow margins.
In Tumkur, former MP SP Muddhanumegowda quit Congress after he was denied the party ticket in 2019. Alliance partner JD(S) was allowed to contest the seat and former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, the alliance candidate, lost. With JD(S) now an ally of BJP, Muddhanumegowda is also hoping for a wave of sympathy.
That many voters are also disillusioned with some NDA candidates has fed Congress’ hopes of a resurgence. The performance of JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna in Hassan, Raja Amreshwara Naik, the incumbent BJP MP in Raichur, and his Chikkodi counterpart Annasaheb Jolle appear to have left a lot to be desired.
Incumbent Koppal MP, Karadi Sanganna’s decision to join Congress from BJP and the candidacy of Priyanka Jarkiholi, daughter of PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi in Chikkodi, is also expected to help increase Congress’ tally. Sanganna’s defection is expected to propel Congress’ challenge in Koppal, while Balachandra Jarkiholi and Ramesh Jarkiholi, both of BJP, are expected to back their niece Priyanka against Jolle.
In Bangalore North, South, Chikkaballapur, and Shimoga seats, Congress is hoping internal rivalry in BJP will boost its chances. While BJP north and Chikkaballapur candidates, Union minister Shobha Karandlaje, and former health minister K Sudhakar are said to be quite disliked by the local members of BJP, sources suggest that in Bangalore South, the meteoric rise of Tejasvi Surya has become a sore point among local legislators.
But BJP continues to bank on its magic mantra — Modi wave. Perhaps PM Modi is the only world leader who goes to every election with pro-incumbency. This is neither the state nor a local election but that of the nation. With no national narrative, Congress is unable to match Modi’s popularity and is banking on local issues, said Surya.
