Canary in the Bellary coal mine: BJP trounced in Karnataka

“We have lost and this is alarming. We will definitely introspect about it,” said BJP MP and spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain, and then promptly recited a poem by Atal Bihari Vajpayee to underline his party’s indomitable courage in the face of electoral debacle. In this case, a paltry 907 seats in Karnataka’s urban local body elections. The canary in the coal mines of Bellary is singing loud and clear, mere months ahead of the assembly polls. And it sounds like a funereal dirge for BJP’s sole foothold in South India. The bad news isn’t just that the BJP lost enormous ground since 2007 – when it won 1,180 seats – but that its nemesis, the local Congress party, has bounced right back with 1,906 seats, making it a winner by a significant margin. BS Yeddyurappa played spoiler but there is little indication that his new party will be a serious contender in May, except perhaps as a valuable ally. BSY was able to hold Shimoga district, but his party lost to Congress in Shikarpura, the ward he hails from. There is already talk of bringing BSY back into the fold in fond hopes of courting the Lingayat vote – but that move may be more a measure of BJP desperation than of any reward in embracing the most prominent symbol of its failures of governance. [caption id=“attachment_656947” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Members of the Karnataka Congress unit celebrate the party’s showing in the state civic polls. PTI[/caption] Worse, the Congress has staked its flag in the saffron heartland of Karnataka, and in districts that were considered BJP’s stronghold. Other than losing Bellary, Times of India reports, “its biggest flop show was in Dakshina Karnataka and Udupi districts, which were once considered the laboratories of the Sangh Parivar.” Udupi had been held by the BJP for the past 45 years. In recent years, coastal Karnataka, particularly the city of Mangalore, had turned into a bastion for the Hindutva brigade, often making headlines for right-wing moral policing – most notably the infamous pub incident involving the members of Sri Ram Sene. Of the 300 incidents of right-wing violence that occurred in Mangalore since 1998, notes Tehelka, 258 took place after the BJP assumed power. There’s a widespread perception that the ruling party has tacitly and actively emboldened such fringe groups, gambling on the Hindutva card even as there has been a precipitous decline in governance. Local newspapers interpret these losses as “a referendum against the strong-arm tactics of the hardline outfits and radicalisation practised by them. Notable, Udupi and Puttur, the stronghold of Hindutva, showing perhaps the politics of polarisation is losing steam.” The results represent the power and politics of the urban voter whose sole priority is good governance. The BJP’s dismal record of scandals, infighting, and caste politics have taken their inevitable toll.  The losses also represent the diminishing returns of the Hindutva card which has long passed its expiry date. Congress cannot count on a repeat performance in the assembly polls, since JD (S) remains a strong contender. But BJP’s fate may well be already sealed, come May. And the fault is entirely its own.