Congress’ Karnataka in-charge K.C. Venugopal says similar strategy across the country will rout out communal forces.
Bengaluru: The Congress-JD(S) coalition Tuesday posted a resounding win in the Karnataka bypolls, winning four of the five seats, with Congress leaders saying the results deliver a straight message to all potential allies that a united front can stop the Modi juggernaut.
The coalition wrested the Lok Sabha seat of Bellary from the BJP, retained Mandya and the assembly seats of Ramanagaram and Jamkhandi, while the BJP retained its Shimoga Lok Sabha constituency.
Even in the Shimoga seat, the margin of the BJP victory reduced from 3.63 lakh votes to just over 52,000. The BJP had fielded B.Y. Raghavendra, the son of party strongman B.S. Yeddyurappa.
“This is a clear message to all parties in the country that the Congress can achieve anything,” said K.C. Venugopal, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka.
“It was a litmus test for our Congress-JD(S) alliance and we have proven that we can keep aside our differences and become a formidable force.”
Venugopal also told ThePrint that the Congress would look to adopt a similar strategy, of allying with regional outfits, in other states as well.
“We are in a coalition or in talks with possible partners in others states as well. This will be extremely beneficial for the party to gain a strong foothold and rout out communal political forces in this country,” he said.
The results have come as shot in the arm for the Congress -JD(S) alliance, which has appeared shaky from the beginning.
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‘Electorate now favours Congress’
The resounding nature of the win prompted Venugopal to say that the electorate was now turning in favour of the Congress. To emphasise his point, Venugopal pointed to the voting patterns in the five seats, particularly in the Bellary Lok Sabha constituency.
“In Bellary, Ugrappa (Congress candidate V.S Ugrappa) won by a margin of over 2.4 lakh votes, which is huge. It was an ideological fight that we put up in Bellary,” Venugopal said. “Ugrappa has been actively campaigning against illegal mining and people have now shown that they are done with the Reddy brothers.”
A senior BJP functionary who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, said that the win for the Congress in Bellary was mostly due to the organisational skill of senior party leader D.K. Shivakumar.
“The BJP can learn a lesson or two from Shivakumar on how to conduct elections effectively and on how money power is not everything,” he said. “The BJP needs to ensure that the leadership works with party workers as one cohesive force.”
Also read: Cong-JD(S) wins both assembly constituencies, major setback for BJP
Minor setback: BJP
Karnataka BJP spokesperson Vaman Acharya, however, termed the result a minor setback that he attributed to the “lower” voter turnout.
“We will regain what we have lost in the 2019 general elections,” he said.
Acharya also attributed the Congress-JD(S) win to the fact that the ruling party usually has an upper hand in bye-elections held during its tenure.
“This election was fought on local issues. Come 2019, the issues will be national and people will vote for the BJP and Modi,” Acharya said.
Despite the brave face, losing Bellary, a stronghold of the mining baron Reddy brothers, has definitely put the BJP on the backfoot. The pressure will now be immense on state BJP leaders to make up for these losses.
These results place a cordon sanitaire around the coalition government in the state. It would be injudicious to seek to topple it by unconventional means. The chemistry of the Congress – JDS alliance is being validated. Should the two sides come to an honorable seat sharing arrangement for the general election, they will sweep the state. BSY is past his sell by date. 2. In next door Maharashtra, the Congress and the NCP have agreed to an equal 24 – 24 settlement, with space to accommodate smaller parties. Should be SS stick to its Ekla Cholbe Re stance, it would spell disaster. Even fighting with the BJP, it will be at best an equal fight. UP, with the SP and the BSP together would be even more disruptive. 3. A tough general election looms. It will require a lot more than the spires of a mythical temple to recreate the magic of 2014.