Karnataka’s electoral politics has just got a little more interesting with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Opposition Congress at each other’s throats, especially at a time when the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra is passing through the state. Despite BJP being at the helm in the state, the Congress seems to be playing catch-up through campaigns and promises like the ‘PayCM’ poster war and increasing the reservation quota for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs).
COUNTERING THE BHARAT JODO YATRA
In an apparent attempt to counter the Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is expected to traverse through Karnataka till October 19, full-page newspaper advertisements were published in four leading Kannada newspapers, which looked like ‘news articles’ exposing the Congress. The ads had ‘articles’ alleging how Rahul Gandhi was partying when India was under a terror attack on 26/11, how the Gandhis were caught in the National Herald case and Siddaramaiah withdrawing cases against the members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI).
“It’s quite clear that Rahul Gandhi has set the tone for the polls in Karnataka and a desperate BJP is trying to piggy ride on our party’s promises which we will deliver when we come back to power. Rahul Gandhi demanded an increase in the quota for SC and ST and the BJP had been dilly-dallying on it and was forced to respond. The underperforming BJP is flustered by the impact Congress and Bharat Jodo Yatra are making,” said Karnataka Congress spokesperson Mansoor Khan.
BJP National General Secretary CT Ravi said the Congress is not only on the back foot because of the BJP’s successful campaigns, but it is on its way to decimating itself. “The Bharat Jodo Yatra has no effect on the ground. People have not only rejected the Congress across the country, but they have done the same in Karnataka as well. The people of Karnataka will once again show how they (Congress) will be wiped off politically,” Ravi said.
INCREASING RESERVATIONS FOR SC/ST
After a nudge from Rahul Gandhi seeking to push the reservation cap for SCs and STs by implementing the Justice Nagmohandas Commission Report, the Bommai government announced an increase in the reservation by 2% for SCs and 4% for STs. This decision will take the reservation beyond 50% which the government plans to argue later in the courts.
While addressing a public gathering at the Brahma Devarahalli village in Mandya district on Thursday, Rahul asked the Karnataka government to convene an assembly session to address the issue of increasing the reservation quota for SCs (from 15% to 17%) and STs (from 3% to 7%) as recommended by the Justice Nagamohan Das Commission report.
A day later, Bommai made the announcement after chairing the meeting that was attended by the leader of the opposition, Siddaramaiah, and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy.
EMOTIONAL APPEAL FOR AN ELEPHANT
The letter written by Rahul Gandhi on October 6 to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai on the plight of an injured baby elephant in the Nagarhole Tiger Reserve forest, hit the right chord. Rahul said in the letter how he had come across the painful sight of an injured baby elephant, with its mother, during his visit to the forest.
“The little calf has a severely injured tail and trunk and is fighting for life…the calf is undoubtedly in need of urgent medical care. Therefore, I wanted to cross political boundaries and appeal to your sense of compassion to intervene and save the little elephant,” he wrote in the letter.
Bommai swiftly responded to the Congress leader’s emotional appeal for immediate medical care and said the forest officials will ensure the complete recovery of the baby elephant and its mother and act on it as it deserved priority.
PAYCM (Chief Minister) VS PAYCM (Congress Madam)
It was the PayCM poster campaign launched by the Congress that had the BJP seething resulting in a rather weak copycat counter campaign that was unable to remove the sting that the opposition had caused. The Congress’ PayCM campaign involved posters that had CM Bommai’s face as a QR scan code. When scanned, one was directed to a website called ‘40 percent Sarkara’, which allegedly exposed the corruption in the BJP government in Karnataka and how it was charging 40% commission on public works.
Calling it an “evil design” that was targeted at maligning the BJP government, Bommai called the campaign a concerted effort by the Congress to tarnish his and state’s reputation. He dismissed the allegations of corruption saying it was a conspiracy to malign his government and ordered the police to arrest all those involved in it.
“Are you saying there were no scams when the Congress was in power? None of these allegations against us are true. They have given no evidence. It’s all politically motivated. I have challenged them to produce proof. During their (Congress) tenure, many scams should be inquired,” Bommai said.
“PayCM means ‘Pay Congress Madam’. The Congress knew their party was corrupt when they launched it,” CT Ravi told News18 when asked about the poster campaign.
To counter the PayCM poster campaign, the BJP went on to release a booklet of its own set of posters. In a 28-page booklet targeting Opposition leader Siddaramaiah and the Congress, one of the main caricatures was that of the leader with 16 arms each depicting an alleged scam committed during their government between 2013 and 2018.
The BJP also released a poster of fake Gandhis targeted at Congress president Sonia Gandhi and her family. The poster showed how the Gandhis are on bail in the National Herald case and how the “fake Gandhis” use the name of the Father of the Nation for power.
A tweet by the BJP said, “There is a stark difference between Mahatma Gandhi, who celebrated Satyagraha for the survival of this country, and the fake Gandhis who put Gandhi before their name for power.”
Another poster campaign to target the Congress was the ‘PFI Bhagya’ poster claiming how the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government withdrew cases against 1,600 PFI workers. The term ‘Bhagya’ is a pun on the welfare schemes launched by Siddaramaiah during his tenure. In this campaign, the BJP copied the QR code scheme of the Congress. which on scanning led people to a website that showed the PFI cases withdrawn by the former Congress CM.
A Congress supporter, during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Nanjangud, was beaten up by the police and his T-shirt removed forcibly as it carried the words ‘PayCM’.
On questioning whether the BJP has been rattled by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress’ aggressive campaigns, political analyst Sandeep Shastri said the BJP, which has always been comfortable challenging rather than defending, is being forced to respond this time.
“The situation is different. Until now, it was the BJP that was setting the agenda and the Congress was responding. Here, it now seems that the Congress is setting the benchmark and the BJP is forced to respond,” Shastri observed.
He also said there is no doubt that there is a battle on hand in Karnataka and Rahul being part of the opposition is challenging the ruling party BJP. On a question on BJP passing a resolution against the Bharat Jodo Yatra during their state executive meeting that was held recently, Shastri said that “by doing so, the BJP has given the yatra more prominence and attention, which otherwise they could have just ignored”.
Read all the Latest Politics News and Breaking News here
Comments
0 comment