Siddaramaiah fails to help Congress in Karnataka, BJP sweeps

Bangalore: BJP scored a double victory in Karnataka by winning 17 out of the 28 Lok Sabha seats as it successfully dealt with the Siddaramaiah effect and the controversial return of BS Yeddyurappa. The BJP feared that the growing popularity of incumbent Congress Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and allowing Yeddyurappa back into the party would dent the prospects of the party. [caption id=“attachment_1528779” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa. PTI[/caption] However, the electorate chose to repose its faith back on the party. Among the biggest winners in the state for the party, apart from Yeddyurappa in Shimoga were Ananth Kumar who defeated Congress’ Nandan Nilekani in Bangalore South and DV Sadananda Gowda who won over C Narayana Swamy of the Congress. The Congress won nine seats in the state with Union ministers Mallikarjun Kharge and M Veerappa Moily retaining their respective seats of Gulbarga and Chikkballapur. The JDS won two seats with party chief and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda retaining his Hassan seat. A handsome victory in Karnataka was crucial to Narendra Modi’s Delhi ambitions. The resounding success of the Congress in assembly months a few months ago did not dampen the BJP’s hope that it would emerge victorious in at least 20 of the total 28 seats in the state. The party had worked out its strategy well by quelling internal troubles first and then roping in the likes of Yeddyurappa to bolster its prospects. During the campaign it carefully used Modi’s appeal among a section of the electorate, particularly the young in urban areas. There was a degree of polarisation in the parts of the state such as Udupi-Chikmagalur where the RSS has a strong presence. This was expected to favour the party’s candidate. The Congress which was expected to reap the benefits of the honeymoon effect after its spectacular victory in the assembly elections less than a year ago was up against crippling ego conflicts within. Caught in the tussle between two important factions of the party, ‘migrants’ headed by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and ’natives’ headed by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara, and hobbled by the absence of a leader with pan-Karnataka appeal, it appeared set for a below par performance. Even Congress campaign chief Rahul Gandhi’s hand-picked candidates looked at a disadvantage. That Rahul himself did not have the mass appeal of Modi was a bigger handicap for the Congress. The other important player in the state, JDS, looked set for a revival sorts when it was hit by a series of defections. Political rivals were openly poaching its candidates and even entire party units. A few weeks before the elections, two official candidates of the party were poached by the Congress, while the BJP managed to neutralise the JDS to its advantage in one parliamentary segment. In Mysore, the JDS units of two assembly constituencies declared their support for the BJP.