Overconfident BJP, now licks its wounds

It was so near yet so far for the BJP in launching its second consecutive innings in the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Council.

The party’s joy knew no bounds on the Palike election result day - August 25 - when it emerged as the single largest party bagging 100 out of the 198 seats in the BBMP Council. History of sort was created when the saffron party won the civic polls right under the nose of the ruling Congress.

However, the party leaders are sulking today with an united Congress-JD(S)-independents alliance getting their choice of mayor and deputy elected and taking control of the BBMP Council. Senior leaders have been going to the town blaming the  Congress and the JD (S) for insulting the mandate of the people.

But, it has been a loss of face for the BJP. Looking back, some in the party feel that senior leaders, instead of celebrating the BBMP poll victory, should have started startegising. Non-corporators having the right to vote in the BBMP Council is not a new development. There was sheer miscalculation in their assumption that the Congress and the JD (S) cannot join hands as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda do not get along well.

In a way, the BJP has once again become isolated in State politics. The BJP and JD (S), both seen as anti-Congress, had coordinated among each other to take on the ruling dispensation on several issue, including illegal lottery, mysterious death of IAS officer D K Ravi, corruption in the institution of the Lokayukta, among others.

However, the JD (S) cosying up to the Congress will result in the BJP distancing itself from its one-time ally. The State unit of the party is now also facing the ire of the central leadership for pushing itself into a corner.

The party had just got a simple majority in the Council but the race was still on and the finishing line yet to be crossed. Former deputy chief minister R Ashoka, who was the party in-charge, has been blamed for the miscalculation and lack of startergising post-victory. But the fact remains that in the very presence of Ashoka, an Independent woman corporator joined the BJP. It is not that the Independents were ignored. Probably their hidden demands were not acceptable to the party. However, other leaders, including seasoned politicians such as Ananth Kumar, D V Sadananda Gowda, cannot shy away from responsibility as they took credit for the party’s win in the polls.

A section of leaders taking the seven independent corporators for granted also cost the party dear. Four of the seven independents who got elected were BJP rebels. Three of them won from wards coming under the C V Raman Nagar Assembly constituency and one from the ward coming under Mahadevapura Assembly segment. The independents blamed their jurisdictional MLAs S Raghu (C V Raman Nagar) and Aravind Limbavali (Mahadevapura) for denying them party tickets.

Soon after the polls results were out, the four independents approached R Ashoka stating they were interested in joining the party. But they were ignored. They were told they could be inducted into the party only with the consent of Raghu and Limbavali. The consent never came and the snubbed independents joined the Congress. The party leaders realised their folly, but it was already too late.