Congress faces anti-incumbency shadow before Karnataka poll run-up

As the Congress government completes three years and enters the political “business end” of its tenure, despondency is growing within the party over unresolved issues, especially the leadership dispute between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar.

The government is holding a Sadhana Samavesha in Tumakuru on Tuesday to mark three years in office. In fact, the government will reach the milestone on May 20. However, a strike by transport unions on May 20 forced it to advance the celebrations.

Karnataka will face its next general election in May 2028. For all practical purposes, the government is left with just one more budget before everyone switches to election mode.

In the first three years, the government has struggled with perception. The five ‘guarantee’ schemes — a pioneering effort towards universal basic income — stand out as an achievement of a government that has had trouble telling people that it has more to offer.

Any and all policy brilliance, such as the government’s efforts to fight corruption by introducing counselling-based transfers and the bold excise reforms, has been dimmed by politics fueled by internal camp wars.

Pundits agree that Congress faltered in its handling of the leadership dispute between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar. “A perception built that nothing else was happening except for their one-upmanship,” one political analyst said.

The tussle has also delayed the long-pending Cabinet reshuffle. “If the Cabinet reshuffle happens, it means Siddaramaiah will continue as the CM. A delay in the reshuffle means uncertainty over his continuation,” senior lawmaker KN Rajanna said recently. The delay has hit more than a dozen lawmakers who are aspiring to become ministers in a government that badly needs a morale booster.

Hundreds of Congress workers have yet to be appointed as members or directors of various boards and corporations. This delay is, again, attributed to factional infighting.

Political consultant Venkatesh Thogarighatta warned of “fatigue” as Congress heads into the election year. “It’s natural for fatigue to start setting in, more so because the best of the governance came in the first six months in the form of five guarantees,” he said.

“The time-tested antidotes for fatigue, or anti-incumbency, are launching mega initiatives and an infusion of fresh blood into the government. Considering the limited fiscal room, the second option is eminently doable. A judicious combination of these two would do a world of good as the party goes into the election year,” Thogarighatta said.