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| Vote against corruption | | Karnataka offers lessons to Congress | |
FOR a party perpetually on
the defensive for corrup
tion, the victory in Karnataka brings much-needed respite. But the Congress should resist the temptation to use it as a weapon to hit back at the BJP. Rather it should learn the right lessons even if it is a bit late in the day. Karnataka did not vote for the Congress. It voted against the BJP's utterly corrupt regime, which encouraged an open loot of the state's natural resources. Politicians grabbed plots at prime locations and amassed property, and many were even caught. For the first time in the state's history an assertive and unsparing Lokayukta sent a Chief Minister to jail. If the Congress does not want to face the same fate in the coming general election, it will have to set its house in order and get rid of the tainted leaders.
Occupying a high moral ground, the BJP's national leadership makes concerted attacks on the Congress and repeatedly disrupts Parliament to focus attention on corruption, forgetting mafia rule in its southern backyard. The party again fielded some of the tainted leaders and, therefore, fully deserved the drubbing it got. The voters have rightly thrown out the first-ever BJP government in South India. Instead of taking home the right message, the BJP is attributing the defeat to a split vote. Given the clear verdict, the Janata Dal (Secular) of the Gowdas could not play the king-maker.
Though state and national elections are contested on different issues, yet if the trend persists, the BJP would lose many, if not all, of its 19 parliamentary seats it won in 2009. People are not carried away by national leaders' rhetorical speeches at election rallies or debating skills of party spokespersons frequenting TV channels. It is the issues affecting their day-to-day life, poor governance and graft that shape their perceptions and choices. Therefore, it was not, and should not be seen as, a vote in favour of Rahul Gandhi of the Congress or against Narendra Modi of the BJP, both of whom had actively campaigned. |
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