The fiercely fought election to Karnataka Assembly, which caught national attention, is over. The Congress, which highlighted the shortcomings in the system and assured people of ushering Karnataka onto a new path of development, has got an absolute majority to govern the state for the next five years. It has now set in motion the process to elect a new chief minister. Given the political ambitions of leaders who worked for the party’s victory, it may take a few days for it to put in place a full-fledged government.
Once the government formation process is over, Congress should get cracking to deliver on its promises. Effectively implementing its five guarantees made to people during electioneering will be among the big challenges before the new government.
As Congress is keen to keep up its winning momentum till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it cannot afford to err or delay in implementing the welfare programmes, besides fast-tracking development works to show a visible change in the governance.
That could perhaps help portray the ‘Karnataka Model’ of governance in the high-stakes polls later this year in other states as well as in the Lok Sabha polls. On the flip side, failure to do so can give credence to BJP’s allegations over Congress’ failures in Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chhattisgarh. The government’s commitment and ability will be put to the test within a year during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
Two hundred units of free electricity per month to every household; Rs 2,000 per month to every woman head of in households; Rs 3,000 per month to unemployed graduates; Rs 1,500 per month to unemployed diploma holders; 10 kg rice per person per month to Below Poverty Line (BPL) families; and free transportation facility for women in state transport corporation buses are the five guarantees given to people.
Guarantee cards were distributed to people and top party leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, who assured that they will be implemented in the first cabinet. The party’s strategy to announce the poll guarantees also played a big role in winning 135 of the 224 seats. In a welfare state, the governments have to take up welfare programmes, but the big question is how effectively they are implemented.
Congress can count on its leaders, who have political acumen and experience in implementing welfare programmes. The real challenge is to keep their promise to root out corruption. The ‘40 % corruption allegations against the BJP government were one of the major poll planks that helped Congress set a narrative against the BJP and build momentum in its favour even before elections were announced. The BJP attempted to counter, but failed to negate the charges of corruption and governance deficit, ending up paying a heavy price in the elections.
While the focus should shift to governance that has taken a backseat over several months when the state got into the election mode, the Congress government in the state and the BJP government at the Centre should also work like “double-engine” governments in the best interests of the people of the state.
Leaving aside the statements made in the heat of electioneering, it would do well for the BJP government at the Centre to fully extend its cooperation to the State Government in terms of allocation of funds and the Congress government should not make any distinction between the Central and state schemes.
At the end of the day, all schemes and programmes are meant for the people of the state. It does not matter whether they are Centre- or state-sponsored programmes, as they are all funded by people who are the ultimate beneficiaries.
Former CM Siddaramaiah and State Congress president DK Shivakumar — who worked as Congress’ “double-engines” to propel the party to power — will now have to show the same zeal and enthusiasm for the development of the state, keeping politics aside.
Ramu Patil
Senior Associate Editor
ramu@ newindianexpress.com