Karnataka Election 2023 Results: From corruption issue to pre-poll 'guarantees', here's what helped Congress

The Congress successfully wresting power in Karnataka after Himachal Pradesh will be a morale booster for the party in reviving its electoral fortunes and strengthening its credentials as the main opposition player against the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

PTI News

First Published May 13, 2023, 4:34 PM IST | Last Updated May 13, 2023, 4:34 PM IST

Putting up a united front and making corruption a central theme of its campaign coupled with pre-poll 'guarantees' of free power and rice and unemployment dole did the trick for Congress in defeating the BJP, which was weighed down by anti-incumbency.

In addition, the Muslim vote, which accounted for nearly 13 per cent of the electorate, consolidated in favour of the party, Congress sources said.

The Congress has promised to implement poll 'guarantees', 200 units of free power to all households (Gruha Jyoti), Rs 2,000 monthly assistance to the woman head of every family (Gruha Lakshmi), 10 kg of rice free to every member of a BPL household (Anna Bhagya), Rs 3,000 every month for graduate youth and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders (both in the age group of 18-25) for two years (YuvaNidhi), and free travel for women in public transport buses (Shakti - on the very first day after coming to power in the state.

Karnataka Election 2023 Results: Meet Sunil Kanugolu, former BJP poll strategist behind Congress' resurgence

"I think this election is crucial. This result is the stepping stone for the party in the Lok Sabha election in 2024 .... I also hope that Rahul Gandhi becomes the prime minister of this country," party stalwart and former chief minister Siddaramaiah said.

With the win in Karnataka, the Congress has also bounced back after the recent losses in the Northeastern states and it will give the momentum needed to take on the battle-ready election machinery of the BJP later this year in the Hindi heartland states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.

The Congress, by and large, focused on local issues in this election and its campaign also was run by state leaders initially. However, its central leaders such as party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra pitched in subsequently.

Karnataka Election 2023 Results: CM Bommai announces resignation from CM post after BJP heads for defeat

The Congress entered the campaign with the challenge of keeping at bay the factionalism, especially between the camps of its two chief ministerial aspirants -- Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar -- who were often seen to be engaging in political one-upmanship, but succeeded in putting up a united front and ensured that no rift came out in the open and derailed its prospects.

This poll was also a prestige battle in a way for the grand old party with a Kannadiga Mallikarjun Kharge, who hails from Kalaburagi district, at its helm as the national president. Though the campaign initially centered around its state leaders like Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar, Kharge gave it momentum and thereby prepared the pitch for the party's top leaders Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi to join in.

The brother-sister duo extensively travelled across the state, challenging the BJP's campaign blitz led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, countering him on various issues, and raising the issue of corruption, while promising to provide a better alternative for Karnataka.

Their mother and former AICC president Sonia Gandhi addressed a party rally in Hubballi on Saturday. The party held 99 public meetings and 33 road shows by its top state and central leaders. The Congress, which had set a target of winning 150 seats, had repeatedly urged voters to ensure that it gets an absolute majority so that BJP doesn't "steal" the mandate by managing defections of other party legislators and "manufacture" a majority in its favour.

Karnataka Election 2023 Results: Full list of winners from Bengaluru

The focus of the Congress attack on the BJP government was over corruption and the charge of "40 per cent commission", coupled with the Adani issue, which according to several party leaders seems to have echoed with the sentiment of the people.

While extensively highlighting its five key poll 'guarantees', the party tried to inform the people about its charge against the BJP government of having "failed in fulfilling 90 per cent of its promises" made in its 2018 manifesto.

The Congress was aiming to attract the Lingayat vote base of the BJP by trying to project that the saffron party was neglecting the community. While pointing at instances such as the alleged sidelining of Lingayat community leaders in the party like BS Yediyurappa, the Congress got more ammunition in a way when two senior BJP leaders from the dominant community - Jagadish Shettar (former CM) and Laxman Savadi (former Deputy CM) - joined the party over being denied ticket to contest the polls by the BJP.

Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi repeatedly invoked 12th Century social reformer Basavanna in their speeches while accusing the BJP of spreading communal hatred. At a time when it seemed like all was going well for it, Congress also waded into controversies with Siddaramaiah's statement that "there's already a Lingayat CM who is the most corrupt", which the BJP turned into an 'insult' to the entire Lingayat community.

For more reliable and latest news

subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here.