No wave for anyone, candidates' battle will decide outcome: Expert

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: There could be anti-incumbency against the BJP government but to put it candidly, there's no Congress wave and therefore the upcoming elections will be won in a one-on-one contests between candidates, feels Professor Narayana A from the school of policy and governance at Azim Premji University. He says that since 1983, no state government in Karnataka has survived the level of antiincumbency and infighting the BJP is facing.

“It (the result) is a bit difficult to predict. All that I can say is that there is discontent against the BJP. There are enormous problems within the BJP as a party but I can’t with certainty say that this discontent of the public against the BJP has turned into a pro-Congress wave.

So therefore the battle is going to be decided at the constituency level,” Narayana said. “More than local issues, the candidates’ relative strengths and weaknesses will matter.” The professor feels there is a possibility that communal issues might sway voters and it might help the BJP overcome corruption charges.

“Overall, the position is this: A government with a track record like this and so much infighting has found it dfficult to return to power. Karnataka voters, since 1983, have never re-elected a government riddled with corruption charges. If you go by that trend, this party is not likely to return to power. However, if the state electorate has become communally polarized between 2018 and 2023, then that trend might change,” Narayana asserted.