Karnataka is known to give fractured mandates in state elections. On May 13, 2023, that saw a change for the first time in 10 years, with Congress leading on a majority of the seats and the BJP conceding defeat.
The grand old party ran a high-decibel campaign in the state and countered the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on various issues, helping them to garner support on the ground.
The southern state had seen a simple majority in 1999, when Congress won 132 of the 222 seats it contested, with 40.84 percent vote share, the highest in 40 years.
Later, it was able to regain the same strength in 2013 with 122 seats. In the last election held in 2018, Congress’ seats came down to 80 following which it forged an alliance with Janata Dal (Secular) only to fall apart within 14 months.
Moneycontrol takes a look at 6 key reasons for Congress' win in the 2023 Karnataka assembly election.
1 Local leadership: The Congress high command reposed faith in Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and its senior leaders, including state president DK Shivakumar, and former chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The two leaders also led Prajadhwani Yatra (Voice of the people) together covering 20 districts of the state. During the yatra, the Karnataka Congress leaders interacted with the people and took their suggestions into consideration for the party’s election manifesto.
2 Campaign against corruption: In the run-up to the assembly elections, the KPCC intensified its campaign against alleged corruption by the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state.
It ran campaigns such as "PayCM" and "40 percent Sarkara" against the BJP. Posters with Bommai’s face and a QR code captioned ‘PayCM’ were pasted at various locations in Karnataka. The posters resembled the QR code of the digital payments company Paytm. Upon scanning the ‘PayCM” QR code, it took the people to a website launched by KPCC recently to file corruption-related complaints against the government.
Meanwhile, "40% Sarkara, BJP Andre Brashtachara" was launched after contractor Santosh Patil’s suicide in a hotel in Udupi in 2022.
Patil had accused the then rural development and panchayat raj minister KS Eshwarappa of demanding a 40 percent commission for a public works project.
3 Local issues: The Congress kept the narrative to local issues, including price rise, recruitment scams, and unemployment under the BJP government. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi promised that if Congress comes to power, it would provide Rs 3,000 per month to every unemployed graduate and Rs 1,500 per month to diploma holders for two years.
During a rally in Belagavi, he also pledged to create 10 lakh jobs in the state over five years and to fill the 2.5 lakh job vacancies in Karnataka.
4 Mallikarjun Kharge: Popularly known as Solillada Saradara (a leader without defeat), Kharge campaigned aggressively in the state and focused on consolidating Dalit voters, who account for 17.5 percent of the total population in Karnataka.
The Congress president has been an eight-time MLA, two-time Lok Sabha MP and a Rajya Sabha MP. Political experts say during elections, he focused on strengthening the party machinery at the grassroots level.
5 Bharat Jodo Yatra: Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which traversed Karnataka for 24 days, is considered to have significantly boosted Congress’ prospects in the state, where the people have given the party a massive mandate.
From September 30 to October 23, 2022, the disqualified Lok Sabha MP, along with Congress workers, covered a distance of 500 kilometres passing through eight districts in the state, all of them Congress strongholds.
The Bharat Jodo Yatra energised the grassroots-level cadre. Rahul Gandhi's interaction with people on the ground helped them understand the mission of the Congress.
6 Guarantees: The party also focused on the five guarantees — Gruha Jyothi, Gruha Lakshmi, Anna Bhagya, Yuva Nidhi and Shakti — in its manifesto. The party promised immediate implementation if the party is voted to power.
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