Karnataka political parties begin emotional campaigning

By V.S. Karnic, IANS

Bangalore : Although elections to the Karnataka assembly, now in suspended animation, are not on the horizon, the state is already witnessing a high-pitched emotional campaign for the people’s mandate.


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Sarcasm, shedding of tears in public, visits to holy places, special pujas, seeking blessings and support of religious heads have begun in earnest as the three main contenders for power in the state pull out every trick in the electoral trade to beat their rivals.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has made a head start with its ‘Dharam Yuddh’ (holy war) rallies across the state to expose the “betrayal” by the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S), which refused to hand over the chief minister’s chair to the party early this month as had been agreed to in February 2006.

The JD-S has announced it will counter the BJP with a 1,000 km-padayatra (walkathon) by former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, whose refusal to quit on Oct 3 brought down his government as the BJP withdrew support.

The Congress is planning a ‘bus yatra’ to tell the people that the BJP and the JD-S are to be blamed for the political instability in the state and possible early elections to the assembly, which still has 20 months’ term left.

The BJP’s B.S. Yediyurappa, who was deputy chief minister and would have been in the top job if Kumaraswamy had honoured his word, turns emotional at party rallies as he narrates the “betrayal” by the JD-S.

At one such rally last week, Yediyurappa even shed tears, to the surprise of other party leaders on the dais as well as the public.

“Yediyurappa is shedding tears not for Karnataka’s welfare but because he did not become chief minister,” ridicules Kumaraswamy.

The fall of the JD-S-BJP coalition has also meant a free flow of sarcastic comments and slogans by the two parties against each other, and particularly against Kumaraswamy’s political family headed by his father and JD-S president H.D. Deve Gowda.

“Father a thief, son a liar”, “Defeat the Vachana Brashtas (those who do not honour their word)”, “Save Karnataka”, “End the dirty family politics of Gowda family”, “Poor Kumaraswamy is in the ‘Kapimushti’ (literally monkey grip) of his father” are some of the slogans either on placards or raised by BJP supporters at their rallies.

“Gowda and his family should go on a pilgrimage from (the river) Ganga to (the river) Kaveri and not a padyatra to atone for their sins,” BJP state chief Sadananda Gowda says, making fun of the JD-S counter rally, which will begin on Nov 1.

The BJP kicked off its rallies on Oct 4, the day after the deadline ended for Kumaraswamy to vacate his office in favour of Yediyurappa.

The party has sought the blessings of Shivakumara Swamy, a highly revered head of a math of Lingayats, a politically powerful community in the state to which Yediyurappa belongs.

Kumaraswamy’s refusal to make way for Yediyurappa is said to have upset the community which makes up for 17 percent of Karnataka’s 52 million population.

To soften the feelings of the community, Kumaraswamy will begin his ‘padayatra’ from Basava Kalyan, a sacred place for Lingayats, in Bidar district, about 750 km from here.

The Congress is yet to announce from when and where its ‘bus yatra’ will start as the state unit is still waiting for a clear indication from the party high command that it is for dissolution of the assembly and early polls and not for an alternative government with the help of JD-S.

“Our bus yatra is to expose the hunger for power of both the JD-S and the BJP,” said state Congress chief Mallikharjun Kharge.

The state was brought under President’s rule on Oct 9, a day after the BJP officially withdrew support to Kumaraswamy, reducing his government to a minority. The BJP-JD-S had formed a coalition in February 2006 on the agreement that they would share power after 20 months. Kumaraswamy’s term was to end on Oct 3, but the JD-S refused to hand over power.

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