The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), buoyant on the victory of its three candidates in the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday, is relieved at a divided Opposition, less than a year ahead of the Assembly polls.
“If the Congress and the JD(S) had tied up, we had no chance and wouldn’t have fielded the third candidate at all. But we were confident that they would not. This is probably an indicator for what would happen in the 2023 Assembly polls as well,” a senior BJP leader said.
“The Rajya Sabha elections have not only shown disunity in the Opposition ranks between the Congress and the JD(S), but within the Congress too. This will convince the people that only the BJP can provide a stable government for the State,” said N. Ravikumar, general secretary, BJP – Karnataka.
The intense squabbles between the Congress and the JD(S), will only help the BJP to emerge a victor, like in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and the Rajya Sabha polls on Friday, a senior party leader argued. The BJP swept the State winning 25 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, while the Congress and the JD(S), then coalition partners, won only one seat each, and their dismal performance was attributed to intense fighting between the two parties. The coalition government fell soon, with MLAs from both parties switching to the BJP, bringing it to power.
“The fight between H.D. Kumaraswamy and Siddaramaiah will only intensify. Moreover, Mr. Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar are also locked in a one-upmanship within the Congress. Crucially, all the three leaders are from the Old Mysore region, where all their focus would be in the coming elections. This will leave us with a comfortable space in North Karnataka,” a senior party strategist said.
