Operation Hasta: Congress playing the BJP card
An exodus of MLAs and leaders from the BJP into the Congress appears to be on the cards in Karnataka. Most making the switch are former Congressmen and CM Siddaramaiah’s loyalists. Dubbed ‘Operation Hasta’, the Congress is doing unto the BJP what it had done unto them in 2019. The Congress has its eyes set on the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) polls, and later, the Lok Sabha elections. The grapevine is abuzz with the names of Yeshwanthpur MLA S T Somashekhar, RR Nagar MLA N Munirathna, KR Puram MLA Byrathi Basavaraj and Mahalakshmi Layout MLA K Gopalaiah, who carry considerable weight in Bengaluru and can change fortunes in the BBMP elections. Yellapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar and Ayanur Manjunath of the JDS are reportedly in touch with Congress leaders, and the name of Lingayat heavyweight V Somanna is also doing the rounds.
Ironically termed ‘Ghar wapsi’—a saffron party term for ‘misled’ Hindus returning to the community fold—this reverse movement is bound to give a fillip to the Congress, already invigorated by its victory in the Assembly elections. The grand old party hopes to rattle the BJP and sally forth into the 2024 elections to achieve its ambitious target of 20 seats. It must be noted here that the Congress record in the 2019 parliamentary elections was dismal—it has a sole MP in DK Suresh, so 20 seats can be a tall ask. The paradigms of the BBMP and Lok Sabha elections are very different. A variety of factors are at play during the general elections, prime among them being PM Narendra Modi’s reach.
Though the BJP’s Karnataka unit is in a state of disarray— especially as veteran Yediyurappa is now in semi-retirement—it may not be easy for the Congress to wean away the BJP’s committed voters. The ‘turncoats’, who are seen as opportunists and are likely to have lost both supporters and credibility, may not have much of an impact on the electorate. Instead, they could present a problem of plenty for the Congress, which is already contending with many ambitious aspirants. The trend of leaders jumping camp before elections, ideology no bar, is the reality of Indian politics. It is when they cross the floor after governments are formed that the voter is left cheated.