oppn parties Karnataka Votes On May 10: Hung Assembly Predicted

News Snippets

  • SP drops two candidates owing allegiance to Azam Khan from Rampur and Moradabad
  • In Assam, a controversy erupted after a picture of UPPL leader Benjamin Basumatary, lying on a stack of Rs 500 notes circulated on social media. UPPL is an ally of the BJP
  • AAP's Jalandhar-West MP Sushil Kumar Rinku joins the BJP. He was the only AAP Lok Sabha MP
  • Supreme Court dismisses Centre's plea to review its 2023 verdict in the PMLA case
  • Close save for passengers as they remain unhurt after the wings of two planes graze at Kolkata airport. Pilots derostered and inquiry ordered by DGCA
  • Bengal BJP leader Dilip Ghosh gets notice from the EC as well as the BJP for making ugly remarks about Mamata Banerjee's parentage
  • Sadanand Vasanth Date, who faught terrorists in the 26/11 attack and was awarded the Preisent's Police medal, has been appointed the head of the NIA
  • Centre will borrow Rs 7.5L cr in the first six months of FY25, nearly 50% of the target for the full year
  • 25 stocks, including SBI, will see same day trade settlements from today in the world's fastest settlement mode in both BSE and NSE
  • Stocks recover smartly on Wednesday: Sensex rises 526 points to 72996 and Nifty 118 points to 22123
  • Tennis: Rohan Bopanna-Matthew Ebden reached the semifinals of the Miami Open
  • IPL: records tumble as SRH beat MI in a high-scoring match. SRH score 277/3 with 18 sixes and Mumbai score 246 with 20 sixes to fall short by 31 runs. Atotal of 38 sixes, highest in an IPL match were hit and both teams combined to score 523 runs, the highest aggregate in an IPL match
  • Amul will launch fresh milk in the US
  • IPL: RCB beat Punjab by 4 wickets as Kohli and Karthik shine with the bat
  • India strongly objected to German foreign office remarks over the arrest of delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, called it "biased assumptions"
Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena says government cannot be run from jail, hints at President's Rule in the capital ////// In a dangerous incident, the wings of two planes grazed while taxiing on the runway at Kolkata airport, all passengers were safe but DGCA ordered an inquiry and the pilots were derostered
oppn parties
Karnataka Votes On May 10: Hung Assembly Predicted

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-05-09 11:48:22

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

The people of Karnataka are all set to vote tomorrow (May 10) to elect a new assembly. While it is extremely difficult to make predictions regarding the result, it will be safe to say that all indications are that the state will return a hung assembly. Until about two weeks ago, the Congress has its nose in front in the fight with the BJP and the JD(S). It then seemed that the party will get the highest number of seats closely followed by the BJP with the JD(S) trailing far behind but still nursing hopes of playing the kingmaker.

Then, three things happened which altered the course somewhat. First, the Congress started vile personal attack on Prime Minister Modi. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called him a 'venomous snake' and not to be left behind, his son called the Prime Minister 'nalayak'. Undeterred by the fact that personal attacks on the Prime Minister have boomeranged in the past, Congressmen continue to repeat the mistake and cause embarrassment and loss of votes for the party. Later, the Congress said in its manifesto that it would ban organizations like the Bajrang Dal if they created problems in the state. The BJP seized on it to consolidate Hindu votes and all leaders, including Prime Minister Modi began and ended their speeches with either "Bajrangbali ki Jai" or "Jai Bajrangbali" to rub salt in Congress' wounds. 

Then, in an extraordinary show of its famed election machinery and star power, the BJP unleashed a fortnight-long blitzkrieg of campaigning which included visits by all bigwigs including Prime Minister Modi and home minister Amit Shah, among others. Modi held 20 huge rallies in several districts and a massive two-day road show in Bengaluru to stamp his imprint on the campaign. Observers say this tilted the scale in the favour of the BJP.

It remains to be seen whether the above three things will make the BJP breast the tape and return to power. If it does, it will be the first incumbent to do so in nearly four decades. Meanwhile, the JD(S) has been quietly conducting a campaign based on local issues and finding favour in its strongholds, some of which have been snared by the BJP. It still hopes to get a sizeable number of seats to play kingmaker. Overall, the campaigning was acrimonious and the results are important for both the BJP and the Congress. If it wins, it will be a strong step for the BJP in its effort to capture the south. If Congress wins in a state it has traditionally been strong, it will show that the party is down but not out, will raise its stock and give it more say in any efforts for opposition unity.