BANGALORE: Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Friday launched an unusually aggressive social media campaign as polling got under way for four seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council, releasing a separate video appeal for each Congress candidate.
Political observers said it is the first time a Karnataka Chief Minister has used video messaging on this scale to take on the opposition in a council election.
In a video posted on X, Shivakumar urged graduate voters in the four constituencies to back the respective Congress candidates. “Give your valuable first preference vote to the Congress candidate for the Constituency,” he said.
In all four videos, he sought votes for Congress candidates Mohan Limbikai in west Graduates constituency, Shashi Hulikuntemutt in the South-East Graduates’ Constituency, Sharanappa Mathur in the North-East Teachers’ Constituency and Puttanna in the Bangalore Teachers’ Constituency.
The contests are direct fights between the Congress and the NDA. In the South-East Graduates’ Constituency, the BJP’s K.M. Suresh faces Hulikuntemutt. In the West Graduates’ Constituency, the BJP’s S.V. Sankanur takes on Limbikai.
In the North-East Teachers’ Constituency, the BJP’s Shashil Namoshi is up against Mathur. In the Bangalore Teachers’ Constituency, the JD(S)’s A.P. Ranganath, fielded by the JDS is the united NDA candidate, is pitted against Puttanna.
The video blitz comes a day after the BJP launched a major offensive against the Congress and lodged a formal complaint with the Election Commission of India against Puttanna. Both parties have fought hard for their candidates.
Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok campaigned extensively in several constituencies over the past few days for the BJP candidate, canvassing support for Ranganath.
The Chief Minister’s personal intervention signals how seriously the Congress is treating the contest. For the BJP, the outcome will test whether it can hold its ground, particularly after the embarrassment of the Council elections a few months ago, when a large number of legislators from the BJP and JD(S) cross-voted in favour of the Congress.
The opposition has not forgotten that setback, and the loss of even one seat would deepen questions about its organisational discipline.