Machinery, management and manifesto: What went into Congress’ impressive Karnataka cocktail

It was a perfect mix of a political cocktail that handed the Congress its most impressive electoral victory in years in the form of the Karnataka mandate. It was one election in recent times where everything worked in favour of the Congress even when the party feared a last-minute backlash over the Bajrang Dal ban controversy. The results show that the issue – despite all the attempts by the BJP to flare it up as anti-Hindu – did not do the damage it was expected to do. Karnataka had already decided how to vote. A solid leadership, an effective organisation and a set of appealing promises just reassured the people that Congress deserved a clear mandate this time.

In D K Shivakumar, Congress simply had its best organiser the state unit needed post its political failures – the drama following the 2018 polls and the drubbing in 2019. DK, as Shivakumar is known, was able to move the organisational machinery in every village in the big state after he took charge in March 2020. His image as a committed and fearless partyman earned him popularity and mass support. His fund managing skills also helped the party in big way.

The Congress in Karnataka, like elsewhere in the country, is not free from factionalism. DK has his challenge from within the party in former chief minister Siddaramaiah who enjoys the support of a large chunk of the leadership and party workers. However, the two leaders had carefully managed to keep their differences aside and out of political and media gaze. A message, or at least perception, of unity was passed across party workers and other potential voters. “There was a careful attempt not to play into the hands of BJP and media by making their differences open in public,” a Congress source said.

Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra brought in unexpected or unintended yields. The yatra energised the party units and workers. “During the nearly one month when Rahul was in the state, all of our leaders got a lot of opportunities to sit together and talk. Those conversations resulted in resolving a lot of issues that had been there for a long time. This helped us in preparing for the polls,” a young Congress leader from Karnataka told Onmanorama.

The fact that the backward communities, especially Muslims and Dalits volunteered to support the Congress as they were desperate to vote the BJP out came as a booster for the Congress’ attempts to get back to power. The Muslims were evidently angry at the BJP over issues like the hijab controversy and they decided not to split their votes among opposition parties this time.

“There was an evident mobilisation of Muslim and Dalit votes. Small Muslim groups decided not to field their own candidates while Dalit organisations voluntarily campaigned for Congress,” the Congress source said.

The Congress’ manifesto with its five key promises – 200 units of free electricity to every household, Rs 2,000 a month to women heads of families, 10 kilos of foodgrain to BPL families, Rs 3,000 a month to a graduate and Rs 1,500 to diploma holders and free travel for women in state buses – also captured the imagination of the voters. The support the party received from the rural regions was a reflection of this.