Karnataka polls: Caste & hate politics coming to fore

Politics of Karnataka are at an interesting turn today. The State is in for Assembly elections and the leadership of major political parties is coming to terms with the nitty-gritty of ground realities a bit late. The State has witnessed some tumultuous times in the recent past, and several issues - right from governance to communal tendencies - have come to the fore as never before. Karnataka, by virtue of it being close to Kerala and sharing a border with it, has also been impacted by the communal strife of Kerala and extreme tendencies of the fringe groups as well as some major outfits. If the minorities blame the 'Hindutva' forces for the murder politics in the State, the other side talks of Islamic forces like the banned PFI and its outfits as responsible for the same.

Obviously, the BJP and the Congress defend their pet theories in this regard and present their arguments. But, this is only one aspect of politics that has become a major discourse. Hence, issues like 'hijab' have been kept burning conveniently by the two major players in the game. In the run-up to the elections, both the parties are wary of their moves and are carefully devising their strategies.

The BJP has recognized the worth of the OBCs in Dakshina Kannada now as there is a serious rumbling among the section against the ruling party 'for not coming to their rescue despite their men being butchered by the Islamic forces'. This has forced the BJP to prefer OBC candidates just as it tries to seek to upset the Lingayat influence to some extent by balancing the Vokkaligas. Some senior BJP leaders are being displaced in the process as the party embarks on a reworking of its social strengths. Of course, Narendra Modi will be the fulcrum of its campaign as it seeks to project the national interests.

In contrast, the local Congress leadership is wary of the pitfall of the discourse veering around Modi and seeks to blunt the now infamous 'Rahul effect' by trying to steer clear of Modi or Adani-centric campaigns. Amul's attempts to gain entry into the Karnataka market have come as a boon to the Congress which is seeking to raise the pitch over it to play with Kannadiga sentiment and also highlighting corruption.

Notice the stark contrast in these two styles. The BJP's strategy is being dictated by the central leadership of the party while the Congress leadership in the State seeks to keep Rahul Gandhi's political tantrums out of voters' sight. Will it succeed in this attempt? Because, there is no holding back Rahul. He has tremendous potential to make the Assembly elections a 'Rahul vs Modi' combat to the detriment of the party. This apart he also keeps the pot of groupism boiling within his party. Nowadays, he is exhibiting his talent in levelling irrational allegations against his own party colleagues who differ with him or are forced to quit the party due to his juvenile tendencies. Despite all this, Karnataka results seem to be more dependent on what the Gowdas gain in Mysore and its adjacent areas. The BJP seems to be banking on this factor more than any this time, too, in preparing itself for the post-electoral engineering skills!