A morale booster for Congress, Siddaramaiah

The impressive victories in Nanjangud and Gudlupet Assembly constituencies have given the ruling Congress in Karnataka a breather, a year before the State goes to the polls. The Congress has been defeated in the byelections in other States and was routed in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections recently. More importantly, the victory in Karnataka is a personal vindication for Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who has faced rebellion throughout the four-year rule from the old guard of the party. Veteran Congress leader B. Janardhana Poojary, the former Chief Minister and now BJP leader S.M. Krishna and other leaders have constantly criticised Mr. Siddaramaiah’s leadership. The victory in the two constituencies — where he led the campaign from the front — would increase the Chief Minister’s hold on the party as well on the government. With two Cabinet berths still vacant, the Chief Minister is expected to induct Lingayat and Dalit legislators in the next Cabinet expansion. In a fiercely fought battle, the Congress’s clear victory is an indication, Mr. Siddaramaiah claimed, that the people of the State were with the Congress and had accepted the development works of his government. He said he had bucked the anti-incumbency factor this time to regain the party’s hold on the two seats, which also abut his constituency. Congress leaders argued that the byelection outcome was a fitting lesson to BJP leaders, who, they said, raised caste and religious sentiments to influence the electorate. This victory has come as a small solace to the party which had lost two byelections — Deodurga in Raichur district and Hebbal in Bengaluru — last year. ‘Pro-government wave’ “The Modi-wave has not worked. It’s only a pro-government wave in Karnataka,” said Mr. Siddaramaiah. “The elections were fought on secular versus communal lines, and the party that banks on secular principles emerged victorious,” Mr. Siddaramaiah said. The victory after last year’s local body elections had once again confirmed peoples’ faith in the party’s governance, he added. KPCC president G. Parameshwara, who intensively campaign along with his deputy, Dinesh Gundu Rao, said, “The BJP is knocked out of the political game in the semi-final match itself. How will the BJP achieve its ‘mission-150’ in 2018?” According to Congress leaders, the byelection results have sent out a clear message: The party in Karnataka won’t succumb to BJP’s challenge as is the case in other States.