No favourites in Karnataka poll battle

BENGALURU: Karnataka will vote on May 12 to elect the next state assembly in a crucial trial of strength for both BJP and Congress ahead of the 2019 general elections. With the Election Commission on Tuesday announcing the much-awaited poll schedule, the stage is set for what is expected to be a tight contest with no favourites in an atmosphere charged with intense political rivalry and acrimony. While the filing of nominations will begin on April 17, the counting of votes will take place on May 15.The election outcome here will set the ball rolling for future alliances and strategies. And it could also set the tone for the electoral battles in Rajasthan, Mizoram, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh, and dictate the political discourse of the country in the days ahead.

The election will be fought with an intensity not seen before in Karnataka as none of the three main contenders — the ruling Congress, BJP and JD(S) — are in a position to claim being a clear favourite, with issues like Lingayat religion, state flag and corruption further muddling the political scene and making it impossible to read the situation.   

Faced with the huge challenge of retaining Karnataka, the newly crowned AICC president Rahul Gandhi is banking heavily on his regional satrap Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. The party high command has made a marked shift in its approach to facing elections by giving greater leeway for the state strongman. As for the BJP, former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa remains the only man trusted to deliver with his strong appeal among the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community which constitutes about 17% of the population.

While the taint of corruption against Yeddyurappa has forced the party strategists to depend on the Modi factor, Siddaramaiah’s game plan to cause a dent in Yeddyurappa’s Veerashaiva-Lingayat vote bank by according separate religion status to Lingayats threatens to upset BJP’s calculations.JD(S), hampered by constraints of resources, health factor of former CM H D Kumaraswamy, who recently underwent a heart surgery, and the ageing party supremo H D Deve Gowda, is struggling for survival.