KARNATAKA ELECTION: BOMMAI CONCEDES; ‘POOR DEFEATED CRONY CAPITALISTS,’ SAYS RAHUL

Sat 13 May 2023:

Results coming in from the Karnataka election results have shown the Congress comfortably in the lead, crossing the halfway mark on its own. BJP’s incumbent chief minister B.S. Bommai has conceded.

The run-up to the 2023 Karnataka assembly polls was marked by a high-pitched campaign by both the BJP and the Congress. None other than the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his long time associate and Union home minister Amit Shah raised Hindutva battle cries.

Here's what @RahulGandhi said on #KarnatakaElectionResults2023

Catch our real-time #election analysis here 👇🏽 https://t.co/SYWCyAMVkN #RahulGandhi #Congress #KarnatakaElectionResults #KarnatakaResults #KarnatakaElection pic.twitter.com/lt5chBLJYb

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) May 13, 2023

While Modi equated Bajrang Dal with Lord Hanuman, invoked the propaganda film The Kerala Story in his rally and went on to call the Congress secessionist, his deputies Amit Shah, J.P. Nadda, and Rajnath Singh promised to scrap the OBC quota for backward Muslims in all states if the saffron party gets its way.

This, when the saffron leadership in the state had kept an arm’s distance from Hindutva in its initial campaigns and focused on its achievements over the last five years. Issues like hijab, halal, Muslim quota, azaan on loudspeaker, Tipu Sultan and so on which were fanned by the B. S. Bommai government earlier were quietly buried in the initial rounds of campaign until the last-minute aggressive Hindutva push by the BJP’s national leadership.

#WATCH | Celebratory mood at Congress office in Bengaluru as party consolidates its lead around 119 seats in initial trends in Karnataka election results pic.twitter.com/Xlk9aQqWeF

— ANI (@ANI) May 13, 2023

The BJP’s response came as its primary rival the Congress appeared to be setting the political agenda along issues of price rise, unemployment and allegations of corruption against Bommai government. The grand old party ran a spirited campaign and projected an united leadership despite internal rivalries that had kept the scribes working overtime through the last few years. In the run-up to the polls, however, the Congress could not only bury the factional rivalries but also came up with catchy campaigns like “PayCM” or “40% Sarkara” to allude Bommai government’s corruption scandals.

VIDEO | Karnataka Election Results 2023: VIDEO | “This is a message for the BJP to stick to issues that matter to the people,” says Congress leader @Pawankhera. #KarnatakaResultsWithPTI pic.twitter.com/wKgeZ0GV7b

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 13, 2023

The joker in the pack Janata Dal (Secular) also fought hard to retain its stongholds in southern Karnataka. Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy led two yatras – one demanding irrigation projects and water resources in the state and more recently the Panchatantra Rathyatra which promised free education, healthcare, care schemes for women and girl child and other allowances to the marginalised.

-The Wire

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