Poll bound Karnataka is the next important thing for both the Congress and the BJP. BJP even though late, working out strategies to take on Siddaramaiah-led Congress which is bent on polarising Dalits and obcs. After BJP national president Amit Shah’s visit twice to Karnataka enthused party is looking at new found ways to garner dominant communities and section of dalits and deprived other OBCs to take on Siddaramaiah.
The political pundits are hovering on BJP resorting to operation lotus (operation Kamala) in its quest to decimate the Congress or make Congress mukth Karnataka. It is said that many senior Congress leaders and Ministers in Siddaramaiah Cabinet have been approached and might shift their loyalty to BJP. A source in the party said that they were working out and identifying the Congressmen to be approached to bring them to their fold.
He said “I am confident that many senior Congress leaders are eager to crossover to BJP ahead of assembly polls. I can also say more than five senior Ministers have been approached and ready to come to us. We are playing our politics to counter Siddaramaiah and the surge of the ruling Congress. We don’t want to leave this opportunity. We want a repeat of UP here.” However, the source refuses to name the Ministers who have been approached and ready to hop on to BJP. The source also said some of the leaders in the Congress were terribly upset with the high command which is weak and not responding to their grouse.
Meanwhile, the suspended JD(s) MlAs and leaders who are upset with JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda and his son star campaigner of the party HD Kumaraswamy are working out plans to join the Congress which has upset the cartel of the JD(S). The BJP sources say this would help them to have an equation with the JD(s) in case of short of majority.
The ensuing assembly polls next year is crucial for ruling congress to keep its identity. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is the mascot for the century old party waging a decisive war both within and outside to consolidate himself in the process. However, his appeasement politics, the old theory of vote bank politics of the Congress has irked two dominant community leaders in the party which is crucial for a victory. Both Vokkaligas (Gowda) and lingayats are upset with Siddaramaiah for trying to create one more dominant community — Kurubas(shepherds) which he represents. Even now, Siddaramaiah is considered an outsider in the Congress and old guards in the party are annoyed with the way he is bulldosing them. Apart from internal conflict, a section of SCs and OBCs are upset with Siddaramaiah and his political polarisation. His appeasement politics which he thinks would help to overcome anti-incumbency might lead to polarisation of forces against to fight his strategy before the elections.
As far as BJP is concerned, the party has been enthused after national president Amit Shah worked out a strategy to fight the Congress. It also means the warring factions in the saffron party has been asked to fight the elections under the leadership of Yeddyurappa a decisive force to lure lingayat votes which is crucial for the party to keep them intact. As Congress and Siddaramaiah is trying to split lingayats, BJP now is finding ways to hack the citadel to lure leaders which might upset calculations of the ruling party.
The new buzz in the seat of power in Karnataka doing round is about Operation lotus and its impact on the political process ahead of assembly polls. The guess about the leaders and its impact is left to the time and re alignments.