Sir — This refers to the editorial, “A lot at stake” (March 29). All eyes are now on the Karnataka Assembly election due in May this year, which promises a titanic battle between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Not only will it be a do-or-die battle for the Congress under Rahul Gandhi, it holds a huge challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah.
The elections can have a major bearing on the future of the saffron outfit in the saddle in New Delhi. There is indeed no denying that both the parties are at the crossroads. The BJP had peaked in the north and the west in the 2014 general election but is yet to make an appreciable impact in the south and likewise in the east. A win for the party in Karnataka would open up possibilities for it in the south, though in that region, it can only largely ride on the shoulders of possible allies.
But elections to States have often been a matter of formulaic predictions, as almost invariably, Karnataka has been electing parties that have gone against the national trend. This, almost always, has led to Karnataka having a Government directly at odds with the the one at the Centre.
