With a sonorous win in Karnataka, Congress is now in power in 7 states, in 4, it is in power by itself, in 3, Congress is part of a bigger coalition.
The monotonous chanting of “Congress Mukh Bharat” seems to be fading into the recesses of memories. Congress is now in power in seven states, four by themselves entirely. The Bharat Jodo Yatra March of the Congress focused on the love and acceptance of all people crushing communalism and religious exclusivism. Appeasement and communal politics seem to be losing ground. The recent communal violence in Manipur reinstated this fact.
Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.K.Stalin wrote: Congrats @INCIndia
on the spectacular winning of Karnataka. The unjustifiable disqualification of brother
@RahulGandhi as MP, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, and rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people while voting and they have upheld the #KannadigaPride by teaching a befitting lesson to BJP’s vindictive politics.
The landmass of the Dravidian family stands clear of BJP. Now let us all work together to win 2024 to restore democracy and constitutional values in India.”
Congrats @INCIndia on spectacular winning of Karnataka. The unjustifiable disqualification of brother @RahulGandhi as MP, misusing premier investigative agencies against political opponents, imposing Hindi, rampant corruption have all echoed in the minds of Karnataka people while…
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) May 13, 2023
People are not voting for religious appeasements anymore
The big Congress victory of Himachal Pradesh in December 2022 proved a large number of points and one was, people are not voting for the Hindu/Muslim appeasement government but rather for what good provisions a government can deliver. Part of the Congress win in Himachal Pradesh was the Congress party running a door-to-door campaign that highlighted the ‘failures’ of the Jairam Thakur government in the state. People want to see development, jobs, progess and feel safe.
Most of the states that are ruled by the BJP are seeing communal violence
Each state that voted Lotus is seeing rises in communal clashes such as in Manipur, Assam, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh where churches are being attacked, and Dalits and Muslims are being beaten or lynched. Madhya Pradesh and other such states reveal that law and order are weak. Hijab rows in Karnataka brought fear and tension. Communal clashes resulted in ruining economies.
Congress already has a strong base in Karnataka
The last few years of Karnata have seen unstable times, with spiraling price hikes, corruption, and unemployment. Congress highlighted the 40% commission corruption of the BJP which did make a resounding noise in the state. During the previous Congress government rule, one of the greatest things provided was the rise of information technology making Bengaluru the technology hub of India.
Powerful dynamic leaders
The present Congress workers in Karnataka are vibrant, and dynamic, and made strong inroads into the public. Srinivas BV, DK Shivakumar, and Siddaramaiah among hundreds of others are fireballs stirring up crowds, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and many others also made their powerful entries and Bharat Jodo Yatra bore its fruit.
Castism and religious differences during the Bommai governance
On the other hand, one of the downfalls of the Bommai rule was the new Hijab laws that stirred huge controversies in India and even globally. The anti-conversion bill which DK Shivakumar tore up in Parliament sent a strong message of solidarity and protection for the people of the state. Even secular Hindus do not support caste and religious politics. Bengaluru, dipping in its magnificent reputation for inclusiveness was seeing communal conflicts for the first time to this degree.
In Conclusion
1. While Congress has won a huge victory in Karnataka, they should not be happy with the victory in state elections. The electoral mindset for assembly and Lok Sabha elections are totally different. Thus, they have to work very hard on the ground to secure the trust of the people to vote for them in 2024.
2. All the parties will finally have to focus on development. No party can stand on communal and caste politics for long.
At the end of the day, all citizens want to feel safe, and this is probably what led previously placid voters to go out and vote in throngs to vote for change for prosperity, peace, and development. Thus communal and religious appeasement politics cannot last for long and will fade away eventually when common citizens see that nothing lies in the coffers for them.
