New Delhi: The chances of BJP forming a new government in Karnataka are looking bleak now. Yet, the party has started its dominance down south. And next in the BJP’s plans could be the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
According to the election results, in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, which has 31 seats, the BJP managed to bag 12 in their kitty. This is a phenomenal increase from their 2013 tally when they had won only six seats from the region.
The numbers themselves should be enough for the BJP leadership of the state and the Centre to feel proud of their performance, however, what is more interesting is that the win in this region can open doors for the BJP’s ever-so-waited march down south.
About 15% of Karnataka’s population is estimated to be Telugu speaking and their votes, as suggested by the early trends, have made difference to the electoral outcome in at least 12 districts — Bengaluru Urban, Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Chikkaballapura, Tumakuru, Chitradurga, Ballari, Koppal, Raichur, Kalaburagi, Yadgir and Bidar. The Hyderbad-Karnataka districts also have a sizeable Muslim population that has a historical and cultural connect with neighbouring Telangana.
Karnataka was touted as waveless election, where every seat was slated to witness a cut-throat competition. And in this bitter battle for Karnataka, Telugu votes playing a significant role was like the elephant in the room.
Earlier, political leaders from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who were at loggerheads over the division of Andhra Pradesh not too long ago, had set an aggressive campaign among Telugu-speaking population of Karnataka with a common agenda: vote against the BJP.
However, the BJP’s performance in Hyderabad-Karnataka region has proved otherwise. If the party manages to hold on to the trends and win half of the seats in Hyderabad-Karnataka region, it could be a strong indicator that the Telugu population in the region has shown some sort of acceptance to the saffron party.
What also makes this success all the more important for the party is that the BJP managed to get Telegu votes in large number irrespective of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) exiting the NDA and Chandrababu Naidu blaming Narendra Modi for being insensitive towards the demands and needs of Telugus.
In fact, the party’s performance in the region has made Ram Madhav, the National General Secretary, BJP tweet about his plans down south.
Tweeting about his party success in the region, Madhav wrote: “In Karnataka, TDP n Chandrababu Naidu have used all tactics to dissuade Telugu voters from supporting BJP. But in Hyderabad Karnataka where most Telugus live, BJP has increased its tally from 6 to 20+. People have rejected CBN’s politics. Our Southward March has begun.[sic]”
Madhav might as well be right in saying that the “Southward March has begun”. On May 13, just two days before Karnataka results, BJP president Amit Shah appointed Kanna Lakshminarayana as the party president for Andhra Pradesh.
Lakshminarayana comes from the Kapu community, a group the BJP is eyeing to make inroads in the state.
The Assembly polls in the state are scheduled to be held together with the Lok Sabha elections next year.
Comments
0 comment