By Express News Service
BENGALURU: The fall of the two-day-old BS Yeddyurappa government and the tactics it used to pass the floor test has left the party bruised, at least for now. The outcome is expected to lend new vigour to Congress in its efforts to draw more regional parties to cobble up a broader front to take on the Modi-Shah combine ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election if the party leadership succeeds in making the most of it.
BJP which scored a victory over Congress and JD(S) by winning 104 seats and tried to take the moral high ground, has suffered a setback in retaining the goodwill of a large section of people due to the means it tried to use to win the trust vote. "BJP has shot itself in the foot. Its credibility has taken a beating. It will take some time for the party to recover from this," says political analyst Narendra Pani.
However, it may not mean much for Congress if the grand old party fails to make the best of the success it has scored in Karnataka. The tie-up with JD(S) could cause more harm than being beneficial for the party in the long run as JD(S) could cut into Congress' vote base in the state. A lot depends on how Congress utilises the services of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the coming days as he has succeeded in increasing the vote share of Congress by 2% even though the party was defeated, points out Narendra Pani.
The image of BJP has taken a beating after the political drama that rocked the state over the last one week and the fall of the Yeddyurappa government will compel BJP to groom an alternative to Yeddyurappa in the years to come, feels political analyst Harish Ramaswamy. The developments in Karnataka could further raise the concerns of regional parties about aligning with BJP.
"As for Congress, the success in stalling BJP from coming to power could help its cause in wooing more regional parties to form a broader front against BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha election," says Ramaswamy and cites the immediate responses from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamatha Banerjee conveying their solidarity with Congress.
The outcome in Karnataka has provided the trigger for Congress to approach regional parties on a more confident note and raise the morale of its own party rank and file to face the battles ahead in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, Ramaswamy says.
