Fault lines in Karnataka Congress
Team BM
Karnataka Congress is struggling to understand the Lok Sabha results, what really went wrong is a question that is on everyone’s mind.
There is no doubt that upper caste predominantly the Lingayats and Vokkaliga votes consolidated behind BJP-JDS Alliance, JDS faced a massive defeat in its strong holds in Assembly elections and so did BJP, hence a well-crafted Alliance cut short Congress home run in the Lok Sabha elections increasing discontent among the Congress Party Workers and Office Bearers as the Leadership ignored them even after literally a landslide victory in Assembly elections.
Delay in appoint to Boards & Corporation, MLCs nominations given to less deserving individuals, appointment of MLAs to the top Boards & Corporations, disconnect between Party Workers and the Leadership, Leadership giving tickets to relatives of Ministers thereby asserting family dominance in respective districts and neutralizing any future opportunities to Party Workers was visible for both insiders and outsiders.
Leaders like Shamanuru Shivashankarappa who asked the people of Shivamogga to vote by B S Yeddyurappa son publicly, he openly defended B S Yeddyurappa, spoke against Party decisions on several occasions and Party’s inability to act against him weakened the resolve of the Leadership, many within the Party were unhappy that he was in turn rewarded for anti-party activities by giving ticket to his daughter-in-law. Even as some claimed that guarantees did not work, the voting pattern and percentage speaks otherwise, as the voting percentage of women increased substantially, and the AHINDA vote bank stood strongly with Siddaramaiah. There is already a rumble rousing in one section of the Party that upper caste did not vote for Congress due to Siddaramaiah minority appeasement, but the fact that both Lingayat and Vokkaliga Leaders failed to get their community voters on their side is something they need to introspect deeply, as the trend was evident even in Assembly elections, so the blame on minority appeasement seems like a pathetic excuse to their own inabilities.
Lastly, Congress has not taken the 40% commission allegation against BJP to its logical conclusion, this indeed projects Congress lack of seriousness towards good governance. Only time will tell if Karnataka Congress will make course correction, stay committed to its Ideology and pacify and enthuse its party rank and file.
