A gala BJP debut in South - People punished the Janata Dal (S) for its treachery

Rasheeda Bhagat

The BJP’s victory in Karnataka is well-deserved; it was the aggrieved party that was tricked once again by the JD (S) in the revolving chief ministership game, and on that count alone it deserved to win. The most important outcome of this election will be Lok Sabha polls as scheduled and not earlier, says RASHEEDA BHAGAT.



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The saffron dawn in Karnataka continues the tale of a resurgent BJP. The BJP’s first decisive victory in the South — even though it has fallen short of a simple majority by a mere three seats — can be attributed to multiple factors.

The first takeaway from this election is that the voters of Karnataka have rewarded the aggrieved BJP and punished the Janata Dal (S) for its treachery. Also, the strategists and managers of the party,deserve congratulations for steering the party through turbulent times faced barely a couple of years ago, to deliver its first decisive victory in the south.

The other karmayogi of the party clearly is the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, who not only re-delivered Gujarat through a thumping victory to the BJP last year, but also proved to be such an effective campaigner in Karnataka.

He had perceptibly softened his Hindutva stance in Karnataka compared to his shrill pitch in the Gujarat Assembly elections, and obviously that too must have been a well-thought-out strategy.

For one thing, the Karnataka electorate would not have embraced his saffron mantra with the same passion that the electorate of Gujarat did. Two, Mr Modi is now obviously enlarging his political space.

With the BJP’s next prime ministerial candidate, Mr L. K. Advani, having firmly stated that after him it will be Mr Modi who will be the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate for future elections, he has to carve out an image for himself that is more acceptable to the BJP’s allies on the national stage.