The Congress is now officially PPP – Punjab, Puducherry, Parivaar. This acronym was coined by Narendra Modi on the campaign trail in Karnataka. With Bangalore gone, the Congress has shrunk further on the political map of India.
How did the BJP manage such a big win when many backed chief minister Siddaramaiah to win despite anti-incumbency of five years? Here is what I think are the 10 reasons why Karnataka chose to colour itself saffron.
1) Narendra Modi’s leadership
During the last minute blitzkrieg from May 1 by Modi during which he addressed 21 public meetings and spoke to different groups via Namo App, the Congress team admitted to me it was losing momentum and it urgently needs to course correct. The course correction never happened in the face of three-four meetings that Modi addressed every day. The Congress that through March and April was seen as setting the agenda, was reduced to only rebutting and fact-checking Modispeak. On the ground, the cadre was enthused and the voters bought into his vision of Congress-mukt Karnataka.
2) Yeddyurappa’s leadership
A lot was made of BS Yeddyurappa’s leadership, the fact that he had gone to prison in a corruption case that forced him to step down as CM in 2011. The people of Karnataka took a leaf out of Tamil Nadu’s book. Just like the neighbouring state brought back Jaya in 2016 despite her jail stint in the disproportionate assets case, it brought back BSY today (May 15). It showed corruption as a card cannot be overused. Like Jaya had been punished in 1996 for the same case electorally, Yeddyurappa had met his Waterloo along with the BJP in 2013 for providing a corrupt government, the people were willing to give him a second chance.
3) RSS push
The aggressive push by the RSS mattered immensely on the ground. In constituencies all over Karnataka, especially in coastal and central Karnataka, the Sangh Parivar campaigned door-to-door, spending time with the families, asking them to vote for a Hindu party. The results show…
