Congress fact-finding panel blames tie-up with JDS for Karnataka LS poll rout
Bengaluru, Oct 1: A fact-finding committee of the Congress in Karnataka has squarely blamed the party’s alliance with the JD(S) for its rout in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
In its report submitted to the state congress chief Dinesh Gundo Rao here on Tuesday, the panel also said anti-incumbency against Siddaramaiah-led Congress government was not the reason for the party facing a setback in 2018 assembly polls, and cited issues like religion and personal matters of certain leaders.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls party really faced a setback, convener of the fact-finding committee Basavaraj Rayareddy told reporters.
"The BJP got 51.40 per cent votes, Congress got 31.88 per cent votes and JD(S) got 9.68 per cent votes...despite alliance with JD(S) we got less seats and also votes in the Lok Sabha polls," he said.
"If we add up both party’s vote share in 2018 assembly polls, the alliance should have got 57 per cent vote share together. It is clear that chemistry did not work out in Lok Sabha polls between both parties," Rayareddy pointed out.
About 17-20 per cent votes swung towards BJP. In constituencies where JD(S) was strong and had MLAs, votes did not come to Congress, which clearly shows people did not accept the alliance, he said.
Congress votes remained with the party, and JD(S) votes did not shift to Congress, but instead swung towards the BJP, he said, adding that there was also lack of coordination among workers.
After the drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls, the Congress' Karnataka unit had formed a fact-finding committee to find the reasons for the party's poor show in both parliamentary and 2018 assembly elections.
The five-member committee was headed by the state PCC vice-president and former legislative council chairman V R Sudarshan and former minister Basavaraj Rayareddy.
The committee in its district wise report is said to have gone into details regarding party and alliance candidates loss in each constituency.
According to a top party source privy to the details of the report, the committee has cited alleged high-handedness of former Minister Priyank Kharge in local party affairs, for his father and veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge's defeat in Gulbarga Lok Sabha seat, as it antagonised several party leaders there.
The committee has cited consolidation of Lingayat votes against former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda for his defeat in Tumkur and dynasty politics of Gowda family for his grandson Nikhil Kumaraswamys defeat in Mandya, according to sources.
Internal rift between party leaders led to senior Congress leader K H Muniyappa’s loss in Kolar Lok Sabha seat, they said.
Gowda and Nikhil were Lok Sabha candidates from JD(S), which was supported by the Congress.
The Congress, which fought the Lok Sabha polls in alliance with the JD(S), won only one of 21 seats it had contested.
The JD(S) too won in one of seven seats in which it was in the fray.
Steamrolling the ruling Congress-JDS alliance, the BJP had scored a resounding win by bagging 25 of the total 27 Lok Sabha seats it had contested, while an independent candidate supported by the party had won in Mandya.
This was said to be worst ever performance by the Congress in Karnataka and a record of sorts by BJP for which the state emerged as the bright spot in the South with other neighbouring states bucking the "Modi magic".
Regarding assembly polls, Rayareddy said though the party got less number of seats compared to BJP for various reasons in the 2018 polls, Congress was still popular in Karnataka and there was no anti-incumbency against the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government, which was in power at the time of polls.
"In 2018 assembly polls Congress got 80 seats, BJP 104, 38 JD(S) and two independents..Congress got 38.14 per cent votes, BJP 36.34 per cent votes, JD(S) 18.3 per cent votes.
Congress got nearly 7 lakh more votes than BJP," he pointed out, adding that because of various reasons like religion, personal issues, party lost 20-25 seats.
The committee members travelled to every district, conducted assembly constituency-wise meetings and contacted party leaders from booth to state level, to find reasons for the Congress' defeat and gathered suggestions from them about organising the party for the future.
It is a 63-page report after three-month long tour across the state and collecting inputs from all the assembly constituencies, committee member Sudarshan said.
The report also has made several suggestions to the party aimed at strengthening the organisations, selection of office bearers, among others.
Speaking to reporters after receiving the report, Dinesh Gundu Rao said, the report is not to target any individual, but for the benefit of the party.
He said it will be circulated among top leaders and they will discuss and decide on the future course of action.
"The report will form the basis for our future decisions both in short and long term. The report will also be sent to the AICC," he added.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
