In a year with nine Assembly elections, the Karnataka polls in April-May stand alone as the State goes to polls without being bunched with others. But for the BJP, this time around, the party’s fate in Karnataka is inextricably linked with that of Telangana.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP won four seats in Telangana, marking it out as a potential State where the party can expand. The BJP’s efforts in the Hyderabad Municipal Corporation polls, in fighting Assembly bypolls in Huzurabad, Munugode and Dubbaka and in the yatras and corner public meetings point to that direction.
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At a meeting of the national and Telangana BJP leadership in Delhi, however, some concerns were raised that there were blank spots with regard to grassroot organisational level coverage in several districts of the State, and that leaders from other parties (Congress and the Bharata Rashtra Samithi) that had been scheduled fell through. It was seen that there was no representation from many of the 119 Assembly seats in the State in the party organisation.
The inability to recruit talent, to bridge deficits in leadership was raised during the meeting. It is this inability that has the most direct connection with the BJP’s prospects in Karnataka.
According to a senior office bearer of the BJP in New Delhi involved in party affairs in Telangana, the results in Karnataka Assembly polls will have a direct effect on Telangana.
“In Karnataka, the only southern State the BJP has won, the party is facing a challenging situation. Leaders from other parties desirous of joining the BJP are watching the events closely. If the BJP loses Karnataka where the Congress is fighting hard, then it will have a morale boosting effect on the Congress, and the currently loose hold that the Congress has on leaders will strengthen, making it difficult for the BJP to convince anyone to join. A victory in Karnataka will have an opposite effect,” said the source.
“It’s a question of momentum, and a loss in Karnataka may lead to a flagging of momentum for the Telangana BJP,” added the source.
The BJP has, in recent times, been able to combine identity politics with that of welfare programmes of the Modi government with labaarthis (beneficiaries) being a strong pillar of support. In Telangana, the labarthi plank has weakened as the BRS government in the State has its own constituency of labarthis through its various schemes.
“Therefore, the narrative here has to be on governance issues, corruption and getting a good combination of community leaders to support you. The Congress has a legacy vote even if the party is in the doldrums at the moment, the BJP as a latecomer has challenges,” said the source.
The meeting between the national leadership of the BJP and Telangana leaders in Delhi on Tuesday, and the announcement of a micro-level campaign of public meetings and outreach, was also combined with some frank talk on the need for the party to attract talent. The differences between old and newly inducted leaders of the party were also sought to be smoothened over.
For the BJP in Karnataka, the only southern State where it has succeeded, now has to pull double duty, of saving the party’s Government in that State and provide a morale boosting narrative for Telangana BJP.
