Mangaluru:The Congress, which had won all six Assembly by-elections held in Karnataka since coming to power in 2023, has failed to win a single seat in the latest Legislative Council elections, giving the BJP-JD(S) alliance a political boost at a time when the state is preparing for local body polls and the 2028 Assembly elections are about a year and a half away.
The NDA alliance swept all four constituencies, with the BJP retaining the North-East Teachers’, West Graduates’ and South-East Graduates’ seats, while its ally JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency from the Congress.
Though the Congress has technically lost only one seat, its failure to make gains in any of the four constituencies has raised concerns within the party, particularly as the elections were held among graduates and teachers.
The outcome is also significant because the constituencies cover several districts where senior Congress leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, minister Priyank Kharge, Dr G Parameshwar and Santosh Lad, have considerable political influence.
The Congress had expected to put up a strong fight in the North-East Teachers’ constituency, which covers parts of Kalyana Karnataka, the home region of Mallikarjun Kharge, where the party had performed well in the 2023 Assembly elections and swept the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
However, it could not translate that support into a victory in the Council election.
The defeat in Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency has added to the party’s concerns. Despite being in power and having several influential leaders in Bengaluru, the Congress failed to retain the seat, which went to the JD(S).
Within the Congress, some leaders admit that the campaign lacked the involvement of senior leaders and elected representatives, leaving much of the responsibility to the candidates themselves.
“A strong effort from many elected representatives and leaders was missing. In several places, it was mainly the candidates who were working hard. Our party had also assured teachers that the Old Pension Scheme would be restored. But there has been no concrete progress, and teachers were not convinced by our assurances,” a senior Congress leader told Deccan Chronicle.
The Old Pension Scheme (OPS) appears to have been one of the issues that worked against the Congress, particularly in the Teachers’ constituencies. Party leaders believe that the delay in fulfilling the assurance had affected their credibility among sections of the teaching community.
Some leaders also feel that the Council elections did not receive the attention they deserved. While senior Congress leaders were occupied with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the ‘vote chori’ campaign, several local leaders also concentrated on these issues instead of focusing on the election campaign.
The BJP-JD(S) alliance, on the other hand, appears to have benefited from a coordinated approach. Congress leaders privately acknowledge that the alliance helped consolidate opposition support and prevented a division of votes between the two parties.
Recent controversies surrounding the alleged sting operations targeting ministers and complaints about backward-class leaders being sidelined within the Congress are also being discussed in party circles as possible factors behind the setback in some of the seats. However, there is no clear indication of how far these issues influenced the voting.
For the BJP and JD(S), the results have come as an encouragement after the Congress’s successive victories in Assembly by-elections. The alliance is now seeking to use the Council results to question the ruling party’s claims of continued public support.
Dakshina Kannada MP and BJP state secretary Captain Brijesh Chowta said the results showed that teachers and graduates had rejected the Congress government’s administration.
He said the Congress, which had repeatedly raised questions about electronic voting machines, should remember that the Council elections were conducted through ballot papers.
“The Congress has drawn a blank in these elections. The results show how dissatisfied people are with the government’s administration. Will Rahul Gandhi now blame ballot papers or the voters themselves?” he asked.
He said the results reflected the confidence of educated voters in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the NDA.
Chowta also accused the state government of neglecting development works and alleged that its guarantee schemes had placed a heavy burden on the state finances. He claimed that the government was unable to respond to farmers’ problems because of a shortage of funds.
While the BJP and JD(S) have sought to portray the results as a rejection of the Congress government, the outcome cannot be directly compared with Assembly elections, as the Graduates’ and Teachers’ constituencies have a restricted electorate.
Nevertheless, the results have given the Congress reasons to review its campaign strategy, particularly its approach towards teachers and graduates. With local body elections on the horizon, the party will have to examine why it failed to make gains despite being in power.
Congress leaders have said they would review the reasons for the defeat.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
