Opposition’s bid for power in May

Congress to try Urs’ formula; DK appeals to Vokkaligas, so does HD Deve Gowda 

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Congress and JD(S) have been gearing up for the 2023 Assembly elections, which are due in May. They face different sets of challenges and have set about establishing differing strategies for the same. Much has been said about antiincumbency and how it is set to cost the BJP big.

However, the factor is attached a disproportionately high amount of weight. The ability of the ruling party MLAs to deliver services to their constituencies also figures on the ground.

Congress tries to consolidate gains

Karnataka Congress has been honing up its chances in the state polls and is upbeat about the same, announcing a slew of demonstrations in the coming year. It held a programme in Vijayapura on Decemeber 30, promising completion of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP) in the next five years.

The second programme would be held on January 2 in Hubballi which would be against the non-implementation of the Mahadayi project; since the BJP government has approved the Detailed Project Report (DPR) on the same, the Centre too has given its nod, yet nothing has happened.

The Congress is pitching the BJP’s promise on the project as a hollow one since the Goa government has filed a petition in the Supreme Court. The third on the agenda for Congress would be addressing the issues of the Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) in Chitradurga on January 8.

The fourth programme would be a 45 to 50-day yatra, covering all district headquarters in the first and second week of January. The fifth and final programme in the party’s agenda would be a Backward Class (BC) convention, the date of which has not been disclosed.

Ahinda factor

The party is trying to expand their support beyond Ahinda (Alpasankhyataru, Hindulidawaru and Dalitaru: minorities, backward classes and Dalits), which is spread thin across the state.

This was originally former chief minister Devaraj Urs’s formula. Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president DK Shivakumar has been wooing his Vokkaliga community, hoping it’ll shore his party’s performance in the old Mysuru region where they are concentrated.

The Kanakapura MLA has tried projecting himself as the CM candidate in front of his own caste members on more than one occasion. However, the tug of war between Shivakumar and Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly, and former chief minster Siddaramaiah for the CM’s post looms large.

JD(S) hopes Deve Gowda charm is intact

JD(S), by some accounts, is facing an existential crisis as it tries to hold on to its stronghold of the old Mysuru region. Former Prime Minister HD Devegowda hopes his passionate appeals to his support base, especially his Vokkaliga community, will bear fruit. But, unfortunately, the 89-year-old president of the party has had to combat ill health as well.

Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy and JD(S) are undertaking the Pancharatna Rath Yatra. This refers to the five election promises of the JD(S): free education, free health care, free housing, addressing farmers issues, and guaranteed employment for at least one household member.

The party plans on covering some 120 Assembly constituencies under the programme by March well before polling begins in May. JD(S) has also disclosed 93 candidates, the first party to do the same.