A Congress-mukt Bharat has not come to pass. Instead, the imprint of the Bharatiya Janata Party seems to have faded from the states that constitute South India. This, however, is unlikely to be the only source of concern for Narendra Modi and the BJP after the drubbing in Karnataka. There are more clouds on the horizon. Polarisation, the BJP’s electoral trump card, did not quite wield its dark magic: issues pertaining to livelihood and the suffering of those on the margins, for once, triumphed against the distraction that goes by the name of bigotry. This will be a big worry for the BJP; the Opposition could weaponise this chink in its armour given Mr Modi’s disastrous performance on most indexes of public welfare. The prime minister’s ‘political invincibility’, the hollow rhetoric of ‘double engine’ growth, and Mr Modi’s pledge of corruption-free governance bit the dust, with the BJP drowning under the tide of public anger against the allegedly greasy palms of its government. A sombre chintan baithak could well be on the cards to assess the humiliating loss.
The Congress, on the other hand, will be counting the gains. Notorious for its feuding, the party fought the Karnataka polls unitedly and energetically. Its victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka have shown that unity, a robust organisation, and an alternative vision can yet strike a chord with the people. This would undoubtedly enthuse the Congress to hone its electoral strategies along similar lines for the forthcoming battles in other states and for Delhi. Karnataka has also shown that the Congress is capable of a nimble imagination to deal with its multiple power centres. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra may have lit the spark of regeneration but the party’s First Family sensibly allowed the battle charge to be left with the regional leadership. Now, it needs to rein in the competing impulses of ambitious leaders and deliver on its promises at the earliest to sustain the goodwill. Most importantly, the Congress’s resurrection in Karnataka could also give momentum to the cause of unity within the Opposition for a joint, coordinated battle against the BJP in 2024. But here too, the Congress and its allies must prioritise prudence and pragmatism over petty egotism and political one-upmanship for this fledgling alliance to be effective.
Has Karnataka spoken for the whole of India? Certainly not. It would be foolhardy to decipher the national mood on the basis of triumphs or setbacks in assembly elections. The BJP’s phenomenal performance in the last general elections had been preceded by a string of losses in state polls. But what Karnataka has done is provide that much-needed wind in the Opposition’s sails. The Congress must not rest on its freshly-minted laurels. It must go back to the drawing board to try and replicate its success in Karnataka elsewhere. The BJP, undoubtedly, will learn from its errors too. It is, in a manner of speaking, game on.
