It is foolhardy to say that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's magic failed to work for the BJP in Karnataka. When the patient is in the intensive care unit and likely to kick the bucket, even an eminent doctor cannot save him. It is silly to believe that Mr Modi could have turned the tide with a couple of election rallies.
The BJP, courtesy Mr BS Yeddyurappa, had lost its sheen. like the mythological character Bhasmasura, who turned to ashes anybody he touched on the head, and eventually burnt himself, the former Chief Minister too has decimated himself — and his former party as well.
Meanwhile, the Congress should not attribute the Assembly election victory to the Rahul Gandhi factor. The electorate has voted the Congress not out of love for the party, but due to its antipathy for the BJP which failed to curb corruption and provide good governance. The BJP has frittered away the golden opportunity it had to rule a southern State.