BENGALURU: It is no secret that the Congress had a lot pegged on the survival of its coalition government in Karnataka, more so after the rout it faced in the Lok Sabha polls this year. With this bastion also collapsing in front of the BJP juggernaut, the grand old party has a lot on its plate if it hopes to regain all the ground it must now cede.
While the mood at the national level might be tilted towards alliances with regional parties, in Karnataka, the Congress will have to bid adieu to its one-time foe and 14-month-old partner, the JDS.
Sentiments in the state unit of the party seem to support the view that the alliance is now doomed beyond repair. Experts say that it is time the party listened to its leaders and severed ties with the JDS leadership, choosing instead to work with its own party members, from the grassroots to the top.
As the second-largest party in the assembly now, the Congress would do well to act as a strong opposition, distancing itself from the JDS, many leaders feel. This will also give it a chance to rebuild its image, which has taken a beating in the past one year, due to the continuous infighting, lack of coordination and complaints arising out of the coalition.
For Siddaramaiah, certain to continue leading the Congress Legislature Party in the assembly, the task will be to groom the second-rung leadership while also identifying potential new faces from all communities, to help win back some ground in the upcoming panchayat elections.
The immediate challenge for the Congress, however, will be to decide to go it alone in the bypolls and to win the maximum number of seats it can capture back after the spate of resignations from its legislators. The party will instead have to focus on strategy and expanding its organisational base, besides learning from its mistakes.
Supporters and critics of the party say that the Congress has lost its grip on its traditional voter base — the Dalits, minorities and backward classes — which it must win over once more, besides making inroads into the Lingayat and Vokkaliga votes.