Heat and dust

The high-decibel electioneering in Karnataka points to one fact — that the Bharatiya Janata Party has started taking Congress president Rahul Gandhi seriously, given the way the Prime Minister took every opportunity to belittle him (“Hectic campaign ends on a bitter note”, May 11). The Congress can take some solace from this unusual development as Mr. Gandhi was so far treated by the BJP as a work in progress, to put it mildly. The personal attacks by the Prime Minister have not done any good to his office and he should rethink his propensity to make vituperative comments against Opposition leaders. He also committed gaffes in his references to military officers from Karnataka and how the Congress treated them, which shows that facts are twisted to enhance electoral prospects. Does the BJP worry that a setback in Karnataka may have a cascading effect on elections due later this year in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan? Neither the BJP nor the Congress could talk much about development that had taken place in Karnataka during their respective regimes. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s handling of the Lingayat issue may make or mar the Congress party’s prospects. The huge amount of unaccounted money unearthed is also a grim reminder that demonetisation has not helped root out black money.

V. Subramanian,

Chennai