Double engine falters

The road ahead for the BJP after the Karnataka loss

- SACHIDANANDA MURTHY

Two showers, varied in nature, had different impacts on the Karnataka electorate. The Congress campaign played up videos of Rahul Gandhi braving a heavy downpour during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Mysuru. Whereas Prime Minister Narendra Modi was greeted with a shower of marigold petals, supplied by party workers, by citizens during his long road shows in Bengaluru and other cities. It was aired on news channels and amplified on social media. The results were in favour of the rain-spattered Congress—a reminder of how a mufflered Arvind Kejriwal had got the better of Modi in a monogrammed suit eight years ago.

The images were external symbols in an election where the BJP high command took total control of a state assembly election, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah in charge of strategy. He held sessions not only in Delhi and Bengaluru, but also in districts. The other high functionary was B.L. Santhosh, general secretary (organisation), who earlier held the same position in the Karnataka BJP. Plus, Modi made multiple official forays. After the loss, there were attempts to lay the blame at Santhosh’s door. Similarly, BJP national president J.P. Nadda could not halt the slide in his home state of Himachal Pradesh. The local leadership was underwhelmed.