BSY delivers to no avail

Congress performs below par; Kumaraswamys dream shattered

 But, ironically, it is a verdict that will not help Karnataka’s cause as, like in 2004, the BJP will sit in the opposition.

The BJP, which came to power in the State during last May Assembly elections, was expected to do well in the parliamentary polls as well. But its final tally of 19 out of 28, is the party’s highest ever and clearly a personal victory for the chief minister.

The Congress, which had eight seats last time, has performed below par by bagging only six this time, indicating that the party’s revival in the State is a long way away.

The JD(S), which managed to secure three seats, would be disappointed not only because the tally was much below its expectations, but also its hopes of playing a role at the national level lay shattered.

Yeddyurappa -- whose style of functioning has led to some resentment in the State unit of the party -- took considerable risk in bringing several ‘imports’ from other parties and also fielding his son, Raghavendra in Shimoga braving opposition from senior leaders within his party.

It’s a gamble that paid off because the BJP was able to register its presence in south Karnataka for the first time by winning Tumkur (G S Basavaraj) and Bangalore North (D B Chandre Gowda) and Raghavendra managed to humble a veteran like Bangarappa in Shimoga by a margin of over 50,000 votes.

The ‘Reddy brothers,’ who form the other power centre in the party, would be chastened by the fact that they only managed a narrow victory in Bellary, their stronghold, and it was no cakewalk in the neighbouring Raichur either.   

Having emerged stronger after the poll outcome, Yeddyurappa can now concentrate on giving a good administration for the State.

A mixed bag

The Congress’ decision to field a number of ‘heavyweights’ has produced mixed results. While two former chief ministers Dharam Singh and Veerappa Moily and leader of the Opposition in the assembly Mallikarjun Kharge won, other veterans like Jaffer Sharief, Janardhana Poojary, Bangarappa, Margaret Alva and Ambareesh bit the dust.

The fact that two youthful Congress candidates, Krishna Byregowda and Jayaprakash Hegde ran their formidable opponents, Ananth Kumar and Sadananda Gowda close, should convince the party on the direction it should take in future elections. Another youth, S S Mallikarjun, lost narrowly to his BJP opponent in Davangere by a meagre 2,024 votes.

Siddaramaiah, another Congress leader who was on ‘test’, has been saved of the blushes as both his proteges, H Vishwanath and Dhruvanarayan have scraped through in Mysore and Chamarajnagar. Siddaramaiah may now ultimately be ‘rewarded’ with leader of Opposition’s post in the assembly.

Cabinet berth

Kharge, who relinquished the post and entered the fray reluctantly, may get a Cabinet berth at the Centre along with or at the expense of K H Munippa, another dalit leader.
Moily, who has recently got close to 10, Janpath, and prime minister Manmohan Singh, will perhaps face competition from another former chief minister S M Krishna, who is already a Rajya Sabha member. Krishna has good equations with both the ‘madam’ and Rahul Gandhi and his seniority may ultimately prevail.

In post-poll analysis, the Congress may mull that perhaps it may have done better had it tied-up with the JD(S). But the margin of BJP candidates’ victories in many constituencies would suggest that an understanding with the JD(S) would not have made much of a difference.

With its new found confidence at the Centre, in fact, the Congress may go aggressively after the BJP in the assembly as well as outside, and try to occupy the entire non-BJP space in State politics.