Just when Karnataka was recovering from the lethal blow delivered by the Covid-19 pandemic, it slipped into one controversy after another, almost all through the year. Politically speaking, it was an action-packed year. The ruling BJP which seemed tottering after the leadership change in mid-2021 gained stability under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s leadership.
The Opposition Congress was able to keep up its fighting spirit as well as the pressure on the government, while former PM HD Deve Gowda’s party JDS looked determined to hold on to its position in state politics. A relatively new entrant on the block Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was able to draw some noted personalities into its fold, keen to gain some foothold below the Vindhyas.
The Bommai government was seen battling crisis after crisis, even as it was pushing its development agenda, trying hard to burnish its report card and win the perception battle. In a significant move, it decided to hike the reservation for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs). The government also considered the demands of the Vokkaliga and Panchamshali Lingayat communities for change in the reservation matrix, though the details are yet to come out.
The hijab row, which started in the first week of the year after a government women’s PU college in Udupi barred students from wearing hijabs inside classrooms, escalated into a major controversy. It
lingered on for a long time leading to violent protests before the issue reached the High Court and then the Supreme Court.
This was followed by many emotive issues; impediments on minority community traders carrying on with their businesses near temples, regulations on the use of loudspeakers and the halal vs jhatka cut debate. Fringe groups were setting the agenda for public discourse. Many feared that it would go on till Assembly elections early next year. The government and the ruling party distanced themselves from those emotive issues and insisted that the authorities were just enforcing the regulations. However, it is still not clear if such issues will yet again come to the centre stage of public discourse as Karnataka enters election mode.
It was quite a challenging year for the BJP government. It faced a flurry of accusations, even forcing a senior minister to resign after a contractor made serious allegations before committing suicide. The government’s image took a beating after the State Contractors Association’s charge of “40% commission” and irregularities in the Police Sub-Inspectors recruitment that resulted in the arrest of a top-ranking IPS officer along with many other cops.
The government did take several corrective measures, but not before Congress made most of those issues and launched a series of campaigns, including the controversial “PayCM” campaign. The school textbooks row put the government in a tight spot as it led to protests by writers, scholars and seers over the removal of chapters on social reformers and religious figures.
Alleged voter data theft led to the Election Commission of India’s intervention to reexamine the process, which is underway now. It led to a sustained political slugfest with BJP and Congress accusing each other of enlisting now controversial organisation Chilume for gathering voter details. Several instances of moral policing yet again put the spotlight on coastal Karnataka which also witnessed the killing of a BJP youth leader, allegedly in retaliation to the killing of a person from a minority community, while a Bajrang Dal activist’s murder led to violent protests in Shivamogga. On the recommendation of many state governments, including Karnataka, the Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliate organisations accused of indulging in unlawful activities.
The State also enacted several key legislations, including, a law to prevent religious conversions by unlawful means. The government was in an assertive position with a newly won majority in the Upper House. Controversies aside, on a more positive note, the government managed to attract huge investment proposals of nearly Rs 10 lakh crore, far exceeding their expectations, at the Global Investors Meet in Bengaluru.
The government took all parties into confidence in putting up a united front on the border row
with Maharashtra. While the cabinet expansion remains elusive, the BJP managed to bring its Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa back into action by elevating him to the party’s all-important parliamentary board.
The Congress got a shot in the arm with the massive response it got during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra in Karnataka and veteran leader Mallikarjuna Kharge’s elevation as party chief. The chief ministerial ambitions of its leaders continue to be a challenge. As the year comes to end, all parties will now be looking to redouble their efforts ahead of the big battle in early 2023.