The Karnataka Assembly elections are set to take place on May 10, and the fate of 2,615 candidates in fray will be decided on May 13. The state is all set to witness a triangular contest between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Opposition Congress and Janata Dal (Secular), which had emerged as the kingmaker in the 2018 elections.
From corruption allegations to hijab controversy to reservation, there has been no dearth of factors that have shaped and influenced the politics of the state since the last Assembly elections. While the BJP is banking on scrapping of the Muslim reservation and its opposition to the proposed ban on Bajrang Dal to work its magic, the Congress has focussed on the promise of a relook at reservations and anti-incumbency in its campaign for the polls.
Yet, the mood of the electorate in Karnataka remains unpredictable. Will the issues and promises raised by political parties play a hand or are there other factors at play that will influence voters?
Here is a look at the top 5 issues likely to be playing on the voters’ minds:
Corruption
The Congress has made corruption the central theme of its campaign against the BJP, pointing to the various “scams” and “40 per cent commission charge” by a contractors’ body. The Congress has also launched several social media campaigns based on these allegations, with the latest being the “CryPMPayCm” hashtag on social media.
The recent arrest of BJP MLA Madal Virupakshappa and his son in a bribery case also hit the BJP hard ahead of the upcoming elections.
Earlier in March, Priyank Kharge, Congress legislator and son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, had accused the Basavaraj Bommai-led Karnataka government of facilitating a scam in molasses export. In January, the head of Karnataka State Contractors’ Association, Manjunath, said that the association had documents, including audio clips and WhatsApp messages, proving that several ministers and legislators were demanding bribes, reported India Today.
Reservation
This is one of the issues that has been a talking point among all political parties. The BJP kicked up a major political storm in the state when it announced that it will scrap four per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota for Muslims and distribute it among the politically dominant Lingayat and Vokkaliga communities.
The Congress made this its poll plank and announced in its manifesto that it will restore the 4 per cent reservation, as well as a promise to hike the reservation ceiling from 50 per cent to 75 per cent. The JD(S) has also made similar promise and assured to scrap the proposal of the present BJP government to remove 4 per cent reservation to Muslims.
Anti-incumbency
Much like Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka is also a state where no party has won consecutive terms in over 20 years, hence the BJP faces anti-incumbency. The saffron party is banking on the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is conducting marathon rallies in the state. Meanwhile, the Congress party is banking on the BJP’s “incumbency burden” and is confident that corruption charges that it has levelled against the party would work out in the 2023 elections.
Polarisation
The 2023 Karnataka elections witnessed a highly polarised campaign, with political parties raking up divisive issues like hijab, love jihad, Muslim reservation, Tipu Sultan, Bajrang Dal, among others. While the BJP has charged Congress with indulging in minority appeasement politics, the grand-old party countered the BJP with allegations of it following “divisive politics”.
As the Congress released its manifesto, the party announced that it would ban organisations like the Bajrang Dal, which was countered by PM Modi, in one of his election campaign speech, saying that the Congress want to “lock Bajrang Dal”. Further, BJP leaders are constantly invoking the name of 18th-century Mysore ruler Tipu Sultan, with Karnataka’s higher education minister, C.N. Ashwath Narayan, in a controversial statement, asked the electorate to “finish off” former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah like Tipu.
Meanwhile, Karnataka BJP president Nalin Kumar Kateel too stirred a controversy in January as he advised his party workers to focus on fighting “love jihad” instead of development works such as road and sewage issues.
Price rise
The rising prices of essential commodities is a major issue that the Opposition parties, Congress as well as JD(S) are hitting out on the BJP. The parties highlighted the issue of cooking gas and fuel prices, which was countered by the BJP focusing on the party’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as economic strides under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
While the BJP has promised three free LPG cylinders to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families during the months of Yugadi, Ganesh Chaturthi and Deepavali, as well as 10 kg grains for poor, including 5 kg rice and 5 kg millets, in its poll manifesto, the Congress has also promised free 10 kg rice per person per month.
Unemployment
According to a survey by NDTV and Lokniti-CSDS, unemployment is the most important issue for the voters in Karnataka in the upcoming elections. All political parties have also promised sops for the unemployed.
The Congress has promised to provide a monthly allowance of Rs 3,000 to unemployed graduates and Rs 1,500 to unemployed diploma holders, the BJP has promised to give seed capital of Rs 10 lakh to one youth self-help group from all grama panchayats of the state to fund their own start-up.
Development
Another major issue affecting the electorate will be the issue of development. To woo voters, the BJP is focusing on various development projects and social welfare initiatives taken up by the Modi government, while the Congress and JD(S) are showcasing their track record when they were in power.
Among its promises, the BJP has assured that Rs 1,000 crore fund will be put up for the restoration and upkeep of ancient temples across the state, as well as the development of the state into an Electric Vehicle hub.
It has also promised holistic upgradation of government schools under Visvesvaraya Vidya Yojane.
The Janata Dal-Secular, among its many promises, said that it will build high-tech hospitals and schools in over 6,000 Gram Panchayats, as well as leather clusters in Belagavi, silk clusters in Ramanagara and Chikkaballapura.