Decibel levels in Karnataka politics are rising swiftly. Political parties appear to have moved into election mode, nearly 18 months before the 2028 assembly polls.
Determined to break the four-decade-old jinx of the incumbent government not returning to power in the state, the ruling Congress seems to be running at double speed in its preparations for the assembly elections. The party’s district units have been revamped based on feedback from local workers. State leaders have hit the ground running with “Bharat Jodo 2.0” to mobilize workers in 84 assembly constituencies where the party lost in the last elections.
They are also aggressively pursuing the campaign against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters. A series of other initiatives, including the formation of Guarantee Schemes Implementation Committees at the gram panchayat and ward levels to bolster the organisation at the grassroots, has also been undertaken.
The stated purpose of the guarantee committees, with six members in each of the 5,927 gram panchayats and wards in city corporations, is to ensure effective implementation of the five flagship guarantee schemes.
At the same time, it is a political move to reward thousands of party workers with some positions. Since the schemes with budgetary allocations of over Rs 50,000 crore reach beneficiaries directly, the Gram Panchayat and Ward-level committees have little or no role in their implementation, except to bolster the government and party’s image. Officials are responsible for ensuring effective implementation of the schemes, and committees have already been formed at the state, district and taluk levels to monitor it.
The move to launch 10,000 “Bharat Jodo Yuva Sanghas” (youth clubs) with an annual grant of Rs 10 lakh each is seen as another such attempt. It faced flak from the opposition, which accuses the government of using public funds to build party cadre.
It also questioned the government’s priorities and allocation of Rs 1010 crore for youth clubs, while announcing an input subsidy of just Rs 2500 each for farmers in distress due to the prevailing drought in over 200 taluks.
Perhaps the Congress and its government’s logic is straightforward. While the criticism will be short-lived, the party will benefit in the long run.
The “Bharat Jodo 2.0” padayatra started earlier this week from BJP strongman BS Yediyurappa’s hometown, Shikaripura. It is seen as a “warm-up” before the full-fledged campaign ahead of local bodies polls early next year. Yet, it is unclear if the polls will be held during this tenure of the Congress government.
However, some in the party believe the government and the party would be unwilling to take the blame for not holding the polls. They feel the poll results would give a clear assessment of the party’s position, help identify regions that need focus before the assembly polls, and ensure realistic feedback on the guarantee schemes after four years of implementation.
Local body elections will also help the opposition NDA parties—BJP and JDS—to assess their strengths and weaknesses and test how both parties can work together at the grassroots level to ensure vote transfer. They are also revving up their election machinery. JDS leader and Union Minister, HD Kumaraswamy, is aggressively taking on Chief Minister DK Shivakumar over the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project, terming it the biggest scam in the country.
The BJP is going hammer-and-tongs at the government’s handling of drought, especially the announcement of just Rs 2,500 input subsidy for farmers, corruption, large-scale irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) and the precarious financial situation of the state, which the Finance Department re-emphasized in its note to the CM, cautioning the government to be realistic about state finances before announcing big projects.
Those in the know of the developments claim there is discontentment among the farmers, and a sense that the government is Bengaluru-centric, with ministers rarely visiting other districts. Apparently, the government is aware of these concerns, but its response seems tokenistic. Farmers in the state are pinning their hopes on the central team, which has just begun visiting drought-hit areas to submit a report to the Union Government. The quantum of Central assistance to the state will also decide the amount of compensation to farmers.
The latest missive from the Karnataka State Contractors Association, demanding release of Rs 38,000 crore in pending dues, is only adding to the government’s woes. The association members have warned that if the government fails to consider their demand, they would launch a protest and make public the names of MLAs allegedly taking commissions. It is unclear how the government, facing financial constraints, will deal with the contractors’ demand. For now, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has blamed the previous BJP government for pending bills of contractors.
While the government continues to face headwinds, the party seems to be firing on all cylinders as it prepares to fight anti-incumbency.