Curtains come down on campaigning for 14 LS seats in Karnataka
Bengaluru, Apr 16: The high-decibel campaign for 14 Lok Sabha seats, which will go to polls during the first phase in Karnataka on April 18, ended Tuesday, with top leaders of the BJP and Congress-JD(S) alliance making a last-gasp effort to sway voters in their favour.
Star campaigners who campaigned for their party candidates on the last day included BJP chief Amit Shah in Davangere and Tumkur, chief minister H D Kumaraswamy in Mandya, Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah in Chamarajanagar.
From nationalism debate, corruption allegations, personal attacks, dynasty politics, open defiance of party line,foes turning friends, accusations of misuse of government machinery and emotional outbursts- the campaigning had it all.
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi helmed the BJP's campaign in the State, party chief Amit Shah, several union ministers including Nirmala Sitharaman, besides state leaders including B S Yeddyurappa were among those who campaigned extensively.
For the Congress-JD(S) combine, it was Congress president Rahul Gandhi, JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, chief minister Kumaraswamy, coalition coordination committee chief Siddaramaiah and also Andhra Pradesh chief minister Chandrababu Naidu who led the charge.
There were some initial hiccups for the BJP as it gave the ticket to 28-year-old Tejasvi Surya for Bangalore South with just hours left for the deadline for filing of nominations, denying ticket to former union minister Ananth Kumar's widow Tejaswini, who was earlier tipped to be the party candidate.
Other than that, it was a smooth campaign for the saffron party.
In the case of the Congress-JD(S) alliance, disgruntlement among the rank and file of both parties, which had been arch rivals in most constituencies for decades, over seat sharing arrangement overshadowed the campaign.
In few constituencies like Mandya, Congress workers openly defied their party diktat extending support to the independent candidate.
In Hassan and Mysore too, pro-Modi slogans were reportedly raised at party meetings of Congress and JD(S).
There are 241 candidates in the fray in the 14 constituencies out of the 28 in the state which are going to the polls on April 18.
Elections will be held in the remaining 14 constituencies on April 23.
The main contest will be between the BJP and the Congress-JD(S) alliance.
While BJP is contesting in 13 seats and supporting independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya, Congress and JD(S) have fielded its candidates in 10 and four constituencies respectively.
Of the 14 constituencies going to the polls, the BJP and Congress had won six each in 2014, and the JD(S) two.
Prominent contestants in the first phase include former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur), his grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Hassan and Mandya respectively, Union Minister Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North) and senior Congress leaders Verappa Moily (Chikkaballapura).
Mandya is the constituency that hogged most of the limelight with Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil in the fray against independent candidate and actress Sumalatha Ambareesh, who has BJPs support.
The campaigning saw emotional outbursts and personal attacks, with Sumalatha emerging as a strong opponent.
Several personalities of the Kannada film industry, including popular actors like Yash and Darshan, actively campaigned for Sumalatha.
Chief Minister Kumaraswamy devoted most of the time to Mandya, with much at stake for him as he has to get his son elected with Congress local leaders against him despite warnings by his alliance partner's high command.
In a last minute resort to woo the voters of Mandya both Sumalatha and Kumaraswamy held mega road shows and rallies, separately on Tuesday.
With transfer of votes between the Congress and JD(S) crucial for coalition candidates to defeat the BJP, it remains to be seen how the equation works out in seats like Mandya, Mysore, Hassan, Chikkaballapur, Kolar, Tumkur, Bangalore North among others.
Many believe that any adverse results in these constituencies will have its implications on the longevity of the coalition government in the state.
In the run-up to the polls, income tax raids on few contractors in Hassan and Mandya triggered outrage among the ruling coalition which termed it as politically motivated,
The coalition alleged that the I-T had targeted their supporters on the BJP-led NDA government's direction.
Kumaraswamy had even led a protest in front of I-T office here along with other coalition leaders.
Many ruling coalition leaders, who had turned foes and had never shared a stage, were also seen with each other during this campaign, depicting the changed political situation in the State.
Notable among them were Siddaramaiah seen along with Deve Gowda and Minister G T Devegowda (who had defeated him in Chamundeshwari during assembly polls).
Counting of votes will be on May 23.
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Post poll TN alliances divided in supporting TVK
Chennai (PTI): In a changed political atmosphere in Tamil Nadu with no single political party having a simple majority to form the government post the Assembly election, opinion is divided among the allies led by the Dravidian majors in extending external support to Vijay-led TVK in government formation.
Both the DMK and AIADMK are at unease as the Congress and also a section in the AIADMK express willingness to extend external support to Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagtam in forming the government.
Post poll, the TVK's political prospects appear to impact alliances led by both the Dravidian majors in a different manner, triggering a speculation of a split.
Leema Rose Martin, who won from Lalgudi on an AIADMK ticket, has stated that talks were underway on extending support to the TVK. Her son-in-law Aadhav Arjuna, who won from Villivakkam is TVK's general secretary.
On May 5, former AIADMK minister O S Manian, emerging from his meeting with party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, stated that AIADMK would not support TVK in forming the government.
The AIADMK, which finished third in the elections with 47 seats has cancelled its meeting of MLAs designate on Wednesday amidst a difference in extending external support to the TVK, which won 108 seats, including two seats by its founder Vijay.
As Vijay is gearing up for his swearing-in on May 7, the police have tightened security at his residence here. The party has lodged its MLA-elect at a resort in Mamallapuram and has simultaneously engaged in talks with the Congress and AIADMK, a source said.
The DMK that won 59 seats on its own, has convened a meeting of its newly elected legislators on May 7 evening and the party is likely to elect the youth wing secretary Udhayanidhi Stalin, who won from Chepauk-Thiruvallikeni as its legislature party leader.
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal admitted that TVK chief Vijay requested the Congress for support to form the government.
"The INC is clear that the mandate in Tamil Nadu is for a secular government, committed to protecting the Constitution in letter and spirit. The INC is determined not to allow the BJP and its proxies to run the government of Tamil Nadu in any manner. Thiru Vijay has also spoken about drawing inspiration from Perunthalaivar Kamaraj," he said.
Accordingly, the Congress leadership has directed the TNCC to take a final decision on Vijay’s request, keeping in view the sentiments of the state as reflected in the electoral verdict, Venugopal said in a statement.
DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai slammed the Congress decision and said the move to ally with TVK, pledging the support of its five MLAs to the party, was tantamount to "backstabbing the DMK and the people of Tamil Nadu."
"They have betrayed the mandate given by the people. Even before the ink on the returning officer’s signature on the victory certificate has dried, they have chosen to go ahead with this alliance," he told PTI.
The most important question was who took this "foolhardy decision, and how is it going to backfire on the Congress?" he asked.
"I don’t think they had any serious deliberation on this. The larger issue is their opposition to the BJP, which is their ideological enemy. We have supported the Congress throughout. It was our leader M K Stalin, who named Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate when the BJP and RSS were criticising him. And now, within a day, they say they are supporting TVK. This is not the mandate of the people of Tamil Nadu,” Saravanan said.
The Congress' exit from its long-standing alliance with the DMK will be a significant moment in the political scenario of the state, commentator and political analyst Sumanth Raman said.
The Congress may be betting on the TVK as a long-term partner option, but that comes with risks, as the TVK is as yet an unknown quantity, he said.
"For the DMK, if the TVK+Congress becomes the choice of the minorities as it well could, it is an existential threat. It was the minority vote that gave the DMK alliance a 12%-15% cushion in the polls. If that goes, their chances of winning drops dramatically," Raman said on 'X.'
The Congress won 5 seats. However, DMK's other allies, the IUML, VCK, CPI and CPI (M) and DMDK have categorically stated that they would not support TVK.
As of now, the TVK requires the support of 11 MLAs to attain a simple majority of 118 to form the government.
The PMK, which won 4 seats and AMMK one - both allies of AIADMK - have not announced their decision yet.
"AIADMK’s real post-result drama may not be outside the party, but inside it. Whispers from the west and north suggest that a Coimbatore hand and a Villupuram voice may soon ask the question everyone is avoiding: Is it time to save the party from the leadership, before the cadre are forced to do it themselves? In politics, coups don’t begin with slogans. They begin with silence, phone calls and “review meetings,” Aspire Swaminathan, who is credited with founding the AIADMK IT wing in 2014, said on 'X.'
He has resigned from the AIADMK in 2021 and now acts an as independent political analyst.
