By IANS,
Bangalore : Karnataka voters are having a hard time deciding who to vote for in the May 5 assembly poll, with all the parties in the fray terming each other “the most corrupt”.
The campaign by central and state leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the main challenger, the Congress, as well as leaders of smaller parties is full of promises to rid the state of corruption – with an assurance of good governance thrown in.
It is a field day for the BJP’s opponents as present and ex-BJP leaders are gunning for each other with corruption charges.
The flip-side of this happy development for BJP opponents is that they have to resort to hyperbole to describe how corrupt BJP rule in Karnataka has been for the last five years.
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi did that Friday at a campaign meeting in Haveri, about 300 km north of Bangalore, by claiming that the BJP government in Karnataka had set a “world record” in corruption.
Conversely, the BJP has been terming the Congess-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at New Delhi “the most corrupt” regime India has seen.
While the issue of corruption dominates the speeches, other topics that get brief mention are power, water and unemployment.
Surprisingly, problem of price rise is mentioned in passing.
With political parties themselves not taking their manifestos seriously, no leader refers to it — and the promises made therein.
Even the promise of supplying 25 kg (by BJP) or 30 kg (by Congress) of rice at Re.1 a kg for poor families is not getting highlighted as it is no longer a novel idea.
On the whole electioneering is in low-key, compared to the significance attached to the poll outcome – from being a trend-setter for parliamentary poll to morale booster for Congress if it wins and a dream come true again for BJP in case it emerges even as the single largest party.
Key political figures whose electoral fate will be decided May 5 in Karnataka:
BJP:
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, contesting from Hubli-Dharwad central in north Karnataka. He is the BJP’s chief ministerial candidate.
Deputy Chief Minister and former state BJP chief K. S. Eshwarappa, fighting from Shimoga in north-central Karnataka.
Deputy Chief Minister and Home and Transport minister R. Ashok, from Padmanabhanagar in Bangalore.
Law Minister S. Suresh Kumar, from Rajajinagar in Bangalore, mainly because he is pitted against his former ministerial colleague Shobha Karandlaje, now in former chief minister B.S.Yeddyurappa’s KJP.
Congress:
State Congress chief G. Parameshwara, from Koratagere in Tumkur district in south Karnataka, a chief ministerial aspirant.
Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah, from Varuna in Mysore district in south Karnataka, also a chief ministerial contender.
Veteran Kannada actor M.H. Ambareesh, from Mandya in Mandya district in south Karnataka. His candidature has reportedly upset the tallest Congress leader from the district and former chief minister and former external affairs minister S. M. Krishna.
Priyank Kharge, from Chitapur (reserved) in Gulbarga in north Karnataka. He is the son of central Labour and Employment minister Mallikharjun Kharge. He lost in the bypoll from the constituency held in 2009 after the senior Kharge vacated it to enter the Lok Sabha.
Janata Dal-Secular:
State JD0S chief and former chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy, from Ramanangaram in south Karnataka. He represents the constituency in the Lok Sabha. He has been a Kannada film producer and distributor.
His wife Anita Kumaraswamy, from the neighbouring Chennapatna seat. She runs a Kannada TV channel.
His brother H.D. Revanna, from Holenarsipur in Hassan district in south Karnataka.
Both are sons of JD-S president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
KJP:
Its chief, B.S. Yeddyurappa, from Shikaripura in Shimoga district.
His staunch follower Shobha Karandlaje, from Rajajinagar in Bangalore.
C.M. Udasi, a former BJP minister, from Haveri in north Karnataka.
BSR Congress, floated by B. Sriramulu:
Former BJP minister and loyalist of jailed mining baron and former BJP minister G. Janaradhana Reddy, B. Sriramulu, from Bellary Rural constituency.
Kannada actress Pooja Gandhi, born in Punjab, from Raichur in north Karnataka.
Electoral statistics:
Total number of candidates in the fray: 2,948, of which 2,778 men and 170 women.
The Congress is contesting all the 224 seats, the BJP 223, the JD-S 222, the KJP 224, the BSP 175, the NCP 24 and the Communist Party of India-Marxist 17.
The remaining 1,839 are candidates of unrecognized parties and independents.
The vote count is on May 8.