By V.S. Karnic, IANS,
Bangalore : Battered by scandals, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) may be in poor shape in Karnataka, but the Congress seems to be clueless on a strategy to reap electoral benefits from it.
With polls to the 225-member assembly due in about 15 months, the Congress is struggling to get its act together and ensure unity of purpose in the state unit.
The grand old party persists with the talk of giving the younger generation a leading role in the organisation while it is equally consistent in preferring to place its bet on old war horses.
It has proved so again by banking on four union ministers from the state – S.M. Krishna, external affairs, Mallikarjun Khagre, labour, Veerappa Moily, corporate affairs, and K.H. Muniyappa, minister of state for railways – to monitor implementation of central schemes in the state.
The reasons given for entrusting them with this task show that the party leaders in the state have been functioning without a clear objective, except for slamming the BJP for corruption scandals.
Of the four, Krishna and Moily have been chief ministers and Kharge the state unit head. All four apparently felt they had no clearly defined role to play in the state unit and hence the monitoring job for them.
A recent party statement said senior leaders had agreed to “give ample time to strengthen the party in the state, provided they are given the responsibility”. Each of the ministers has been given several districts to monitor the progress of the central schemes. The state has 30 districts.
Instructions to party veterans read like those given to new entrants. The four ministers are to “organise minimum two meetings in two districts”, meet the party workers there and “listen to their grievances, take their representations, if any, and take up the matter with the state administration”.
They are also to ensure “that such meetings get wide publicity in the print and audio visual media”.
This new found enthusiasm to monitor the implementation of the programmes of the central government headed by the party came when speculation was rife that state unit chief G. Parameshwara will be replaced.
It was left to Krishna, whose name is often mentioned as one who can lead the party to victory in the assembly polls, to scotch such speculation and assert that Parameshwara will remain state unit president.
As the Congress searches for a winning formula for the assembly polls, the BJP’s woes keep growing. Corruption-tainted former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa seems to be in no mood to give up his efforts at an early comeback.
Despite being cold-shouldered by party central leaders and pulled up by party mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Yeddyurappa and his supporters keep chanting that only he can lead the BJP to victory in the assembly polls.
The latest on this front is a campaign launched by his supporters to collect the signatures of party legislators seeking his early reinstatement as chief minister.
It looks like the two major parties in the state will head for the elections, hoping that the other’s weakness will see them through, rather than being confident of securing the mandate on the strength of their achievements.
(V.S. Karnic can be contacted at [email protected])