BJP-Congress came out without a captain in Karnataka elections, why refrain from announcing CM candidate?

The dates for the Karnataka Assembly elections have been announced. Now only about a month is left for voting. However, so far neither the Bharatiya Janata Party nor the Congress has announced its CM candidate. At the same time, JDS is considering HD Kumaraswamy as a suitable candidate for the post of CM. First of all, let’s talk about the ruling BJP only. The saffron party has decided that it will enter the election arena under the leadership of the current Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, but has also said that the Chief Minister will be decided after the results are out. This stand of BJP has increased the dilemma.

At the same time, the Congress party in Karnataka is struggling with factionalism. Karnataka Congress Committee President DK Shivakumar and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah are both projecting themselves as CM candidates. However, the Congress has not decided to send anyone’s name from Delhi.

Why are Congress and BJP refraining from announcing the names of the chief ministerial candidates? Let’s try to find out.

In 2018, when the assembly elections were being held in Karnataka, BJP national president Amit Shah had already made BS Yeddyurappa the chief ministerial candidate a year ago. However, he resigned in between. After this, the party handed over the power of the state in the hands of Basavaraj Bommai. In this election, BJP is moving forward cautiously. The party anyway does not have a tall face of Yeddyurappa’s stature.

Caste dominates in Karnataka as in Hindi-speaking states. This is the reason why the ruling BJP is trying to woo the two dominant castes, Lingayats and Vokkaligas, to stay in power. Recently, the reservation quota for both was increased by 2-2 percent. In Karnataka, Lingayats are considered traditional voters of the BJP. But Vokkaliga’s support is with JDS.

You can gauge the political power of Lingayats from the fact that till now there have been three Chief Ministers of this community. BS Yeddyurappa, Jagadish Shettar and BS Bommai took charge of Karnataka. Yeddyurappa has now announced his political retirement. He will neither contest elections nor is he a contender for the post of CM. Now BJP is trying to bring both Lingayats and Vokkaligas on the same track. This is the reason that the responsibility of the BJP election campaign committee has been given to Basavaraj Bommai, who comes from the Lingayat community. At the same time, the command of the election management is with Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje, coming from the Vokkaliga community.

There is also fear of factionalism

The Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka is divided into several factions. Basavaraj Bommai, BS Yeddyurappa, BL Santosh have their own camps. There are also some cabinet ministers who consider themselves strong contenders for the post of CM. Experienced BJP leaders like Basanagowda R Patil, KS Eshwarappa, AH Vishwanath, CP Yogeeshwara also have a strong support base. In such a situation, if the party bets on any one face, then it will create dissatisfaction among the leaders of other factions.

What are the challenges before the Congress?

The condition of Congress in Karnataka is similar to that of BJP. The country’s oldest party is divided into several factions here. On one side is the camp of State President DK Shivakumar and on the other side is the faction of former CM Siddaramaiah. Both the leaders are openly presenting their respective claims for the post of Chief Minister in Karnataka. The Congress wants to stop this discord till the elections. Wants to take advantage of the political stature and base vote of both the leaders. DK Shivakumar comes from the Vokkaliga community. At the same time, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah comes from the Korba community. His image in the state is as a strong OBC leader.

If Congress wins, Kharge should decide CM

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, however, is not the chief ministerial candidate. But if the Congress comes to power, then he will also be among the ones who decide the Chief Minister. Kharge has been the strongest Dalit face of the Congress in Karnataka. He has been elected MLA from Kalburgi nine times. The Congress president is expected to play a key role in consolidating Dalit votes for the party.

Congress needs the support of Karnataka

The Congress is today at its weakest position in its political history. The mass base and political ground of the Congress is shrinking. The party has been out of power at the Center for 9 years. State governments are being lost one after the other. The party is in power in only three states. In such a situation, the victory of the Congress in the Karnataka elections can raise the hope of its return before the 2024 general elections. Congress is battling with expectations and pressure and is not ready to take any risk at the moment. This is the reason why it has refrained from announcing the CM face.

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