Marginal parties: ‘Must bring a relevant narrative’ to join the party

Mere sideshow?

Be it the BJP government’s move to release Rs 119 crore funds for mutts, the Mekedatu padayatra by Congress or the Janata Jaladhare that the JD(S) is all set to begin this month, the three major political parties in the state are readying themselves for the 2023 Assembly polls.

These dominant parties may set the political narrative, but this hasn’t stopped non-mainstream parties from bringing their own agenda to the table for the upcoming Assembly elections.

The Yogendra Yadav-led Swaraj India is a case in point. The party contested from Melkote in the 2018 elections. This time, it plans to contest many more seats.

“The party was encouraged by its previous performance in Melkote (Mandya district), where we secured 72,000 votes. We have a fair chance of winning in the Mandya and Mysuru region. We will focus our efforts here,” Swarai India state president Chamarasa Mali Patil says.

The party, which actively engages itself in farmers’ issues, will focus on matters such as the farm bills which are yet to be repealed in Karnataka.

The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which has a strong presence in Coastal Karnataka, also aims to give a tough contest to the BJP and Congress.

The SDPI gave a jolt to Congress in the Narasimharaja constituency (Mysuru district) in the previous election, with its candidate Abdul Majeed securing 29,667 votes against Tanveer Sait who got 38,037 votes.

SDPI national media committee member Akram Hassan tells DH that much has changed post the 2018 elections.

“After the 17 rebels quit Congress and joined BJP, secular voters are wondering about the credibility of secular parties. This time, we definitely stand a better chance,” he says, adding that SPDI plans to contest at least 100 seats.

There are also parties with radically different ideologies such as the Uttama Prajakeeya Party (UPP) launched by actor-director Upendra in 2018.

The UPP does not have top-down leadership, unlike other parties. Here, aspirants have to download a recommendation letter from the party’s website and they are required to get the voters’ consent.

“People are the high command,” Upendra tells DH. “The party does not believe in raising election funds. Ours is a cashless party - we don’t do rallies. The UPP has already generated interest from several aspirants,” he says.

In a highly polarised political atmosphere in the state where the narrative is dictated by two or three parties, do these other parties even stand a chance?

The challenge for these parties is to make their narrative relevant, political analyst Muzaffar Assadi says.

Giving the example of Vatal Nagaraj’s Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha, he points out that parties like these failed to achieve electoral success as they focused only on agitation.

However, there are also instances such as the Aam Aadmi Party. The AAP, which has its roots in India Against Corruption movement, was once a non-mainstream party.

It is now eyeing becoming a national party. “Even with AAP, their agenda is relevant only to urban areas as they follow the Delhi model of political governance,” Assadi points out.

Over time, Karnataka has had its fair share of new parties trying their hand in elections.

These parties were eventually either disbanded or merged with larger parties. One recent example is that of the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP), which played a significant role in damaging the BJP’s prospects in 2013.

Going further back in Karnataka’s political history, Kannada Kranthi Ranga, Praja Socialist Party and Samatha Congress, involving prominent state leaders, are a few other examples.

Upendra believes it’s time for the narrative to change. “It’s not enough if political parties change. Politics itself has to change,” he says.

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