Bajrang Dal Issue in Karnataka Election 2023: karnataka assembly election The picture of the results has become clear. Congress is going to form the government in the state. According to the figures of the Election Commission at 7:20 pm on Saturday (May 13), victory and defeat have been decided on 218 seats. Of these, the Congress has won 132 seats, which is more than the majority mark of 113. The issue of Bajrang Dal in the state was beneficial for the Congress. In its election manifesto, the Congress had talked about banning organizations like Bajrang Dal and PAFI. In response, the BJP launched the ‘Bajrang Bali’ campaign. In the name of Bajrang Dal ban, Congress got bumper votes from Muslims. However, there were many other factors to grab the attention of the voters.
Congress got bumper Muslim votes in the name of Bajrang Dal ban
Top Congress leaders privately admitted that mentioning the Bajrang Dal in the manifesto and comparing it with the PFI was an oversight, but the party decided not to back down. M. Veerappa Moily had expressed his disagreement on raising the issue of Bajrang Dal but the party continued to stand by its position. Many leaders said that mentioning the name of Bajrang Dal was not in the plan but soon the party realized that the issue acted as counter polarization among Muslims, especially in the seats where JDS dominated Is.
According to the Indian Express report, a leader said, “It was not done purposefully. BJP was targeting us on the issue of PFI. Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath They were attacking us saying that the Siddaramaiah government is soft on PFI and will give a free hand to such radical forces if it comes to power. So we had to somehow find a solution to the PFI issue. Taking the name of Bajrang Dal along with PFI was trying to solve the issue. The idea was to tell people that the law will be supreme.
By mentioning Bajrang Dal in the manifesto of Congress, they gambled. To gauge the mood of the people, the party also conducted a survey, in which it was found that there is no echo of this issue outside the coastal region. Regarding the coastal belt, it was also assessed that there could be minor (a handful of seats) loss. On the other hand, the Congress was successful in sending a message to the Muslim community and urban voters who see the Bajrang Dal as a troubling organisation.
The report quoted a senior leader as saying, “Apart from BJP’s hardcore voters, the urban voters who like Modi now and may vote for him in the 2024 elections, are those who belong to organizations like Bajrang Dal and Shri Ram Sena.” Violent was not happy with the methods. Karnataka also has a large urban population. So in a way we believe that the Bajrang Dal issue worked in our favour. The issue of Hindutva did not work that much this time. It may have cost us in some seats in the coastal belt, but definitely the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.
The issue of corruption has been important
In Karnataka, the Congress raised the issue of ’40 per cent commission’. The Congress alleged that the BJP government takes 40 per cent commission from the contractors. Many Congress leaders continued to attack the BJP on this issue in their rallies. Counterattack was also done by BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Said that Congress has been associated with 85 percent commission. He said that a top Congress leader and former PM had said that if one rupee is sent from Delhi, 15 paise reaches the ground. At the same time, from the big to the small leaders of the Congress, there was a consensus. Congress even got the rate list of corruption published in the local edition of the newspaper. On the other hand, when CVoter conducted an election survey in the state for ABP News, people also told corruption as a big issue. However, BJP has been denying all the allegations of corruption.
Congress’s 5 guarantees worked!
Congress announced five guarantees, the effect of which is visible in the form of election results. Under the five guarantees of the Congress, providing free electricity up to 200 units to every family under the Griha Jyoti Yojana, giving Rs 2000 per month to the women running the house under the Griha Lakshmi Yojana, providing free bus service to all women, Rs 3000 to the graduate youth. And giving 1500 rupees per month to diploma holders and 10 kg rice per month to every person of BPL families under Anna Bhagya Yojana.
Congress stuck to local issues
Congress also focused on issues like work, inflation, unemployment, corruption, law and order and reservation through rallies and its social media platforms. The party has also promised to conduct a caste census in Karnataka in recent years.
Caught hands of BJP leaders
The Congress did not refrain from adopting the leaders who were angry with the BJP and held their hand. Veteran leaders like former CM Jagadish Shettar and former deputy CMs Laxman Savadi and HD Thammaiah left the BJP and joined the Congress. Shettar comes from the Banjiga sect of Lingayats. All the three leaders are considered to have a great influence. However, Shettar has lost this time. Thammaiah has defeated BJP’s CT Ravi from Chikmagalur.
Read this also- Karnataka Election Results 2023: Congress got Bajrang Bali’s blessings in Karnataka? A dent was also made in the forts of BJP.
,