Every political observer agrees that the Karnataka assembly election is undoubtedly the most crucial elections for the rightists and others. Though many other assembly elections will happen before the next year’s general election, no other election will be as crucial as this one. In short, this state election has the potential to influence the outcome of the 2019 general election, at least partially.
In the South India state of Karnataka, the BJP, which considers the state as the entry point to the south, and the congress, which treats the state as the last stronghold, are very powerful players. Apart from these parties, only JD(S) is the other significant party in the state. Nonetheless, the prime political parties such as the ruling Congress and the prime opposition BJP are not likely to face a three front competition in many seats. Such tough competitions are only expected in the Northern Karnataka, where the JD(S) has a powerful support base.
Tomorrow, the voting session for nearly 223 seats of the total 224 seats will take place; the voting process for the Jayanagar seat has been postponed due to the unexpected demise of the BJP candidate fielded for that seat.
The caste, cash and crime play a vital role in the Karnataka elections. During the election campaign, the congress party has triggered a controversy around the Lingayath community in order to confuse the most powerful community which usually stands with the Saffron regime. In retaliation, the BJP has raised several personal attacks against the congress leaders. In some constituencies, some minor confrontations between the loyal supporters of party members have been reported. Moreover, from a constituency located in Bengaluru, several ID cards, which could have been used for election frauds, have been recovered.
Can you remember the last time our political parties purely campaigned for elections over the real issues faced by our society?
Vignesh. S. G
Photo Courtesy: Google/ images are subject to copyright
