Unsettled by poll schedule, Cong, JD(S) hitsout at BJP

The Lok Sabha election schedule has unsettled the coalition partners in Karnataka, who were hoping for the completion of the poll process in a single phase.

Karnataka is the only state in South India where the elections are being held in two phases -- April 18 (south Karnataka) and 23 (north Karnataka).

Taking exception to the same, the Congress and the JD(S) have hit out at the BJP for hatching a conspiracy to outsmart the ruling parties. Charging that the two-phased election went against the notion of keeping polling process fair, the parties also claim that the BJP has resorted to such a strategy, as it is “intimidated” by the Congress-JD(S) combine.

They also charged that two phased schedule was tailored specifically for the convenience of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national chief Amit Shah, who are bound to traverse across both south and north Karnataka as frequently as possible.

Speaking to DH, Congress leader and Social Welfare Minister Priyank Kharge said that it was a “calculated” move by the BJP to catch the coalition parties off guard.

“It is a well-curated and calculated decision. It has adopted this strategy in states like West Bengal and Karnataka. This shows that the BJP is clearly intimidated by the parties in power in these states. Even a week is sufficient to manipulate elections as there will be a concentration of influential powers in one side,” he said.

Echoing Kharge’s sentiments, JD(S) state president H Vishwanath said the BJP would stop at nothing to win the elections.

“Elections are being held in one phase in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, which has 39 seats. Karnataka, on the other hand, has only 28 seats. This clearly indicates that Modi is afraid of the coalition in Karnataka. That is why he has put in place such a strategy in Karnataka to win the elections and to defeat the coalition.

By conducting the elections in two phases, the BJP will have time to shift its leaders and cadre from South to North Karnataka. In the process, the BJP will use its affiliate organisations like RSS, Bajrang Dal, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, ABVP to create chaos, violence and crisis. The BJP will use all sorts of gimmicks to instil fear among the voters,” he said.

Psephologist Sandeep Shastri, however, said the decision to hold the two-phase polling in Karnataka could be based on pure managerial reasons.

“It could be because you need time to move election and security personnel from southern Karnataka to the northern parts. Politically, this could work to the BJP’s advantage as its campaign is leadership-driven. So, two-phase polling will give the party time to spread out its campaign. The same can apply to the Congress-JD(S) coalition too. If the coalition is crying foul about this, it only shows their weakness,” he added.