Explained: What does Karnataka election result mean for India's top leaders?
1 min read 14 May 2023, 07:24 AM ISTThe Congress secured a resounding win in the Karnataka Assembly elections on Saturday, with many dubbing it a precursor to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
PremiumFor the Karnataka Assembly Election campaigns, the Congress party had many big faces including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Siddaramaiah, and D K Shivakumar; while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had only one, that is, Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The saffron party's defeat in the southern state elections on Saturday is a clear indication that the non-Hindi-speaking parts of the country remain a challenge for PM Modi. Last time, BJP lost the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.
However, Congress leader Siddaramaiah remained the biggest undisputed winner on the Karnataka election result day. Before this, the crowning moment for Siddaramaiah was Congress' victory in the 2013 Karnataka elections when it won 122 seats in the southern state.
He worked hard to rebuild the Ahinda coalition, a group of Muslims, backward classes, and Dalits. Over the past few months, Siddaramaiah has overseen a political campaign that has seen the Muslims and communities coalesce around the Congress, Hindustan Times reported.
For ex-Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, the Karnataka election result has been significant as he cemented his position as the BJP’s only mass leader in the state. He is an old-style politician and the tallest leader of the state’s most dominant community, the Lingayats. In 2021, Yediyurappa stepped aside for Basavaraj Bommai and he even did campaign for the party this time, but it was clear that his heart wasn't in it.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge remained successful in wrestling Himachal Pradesh from the BJP, just after two months he got elected as the grand old party's national chief. But the Congress party got defeated in the BJP stronghold Gujarat. Hence, Karnataka, his home state, was a big test for him. He campaigned across the state and managed to simmer down the tension between Chief Ministerial Probables DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.
Saturday's results came as a devastating blow to former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Deve Gowda. He has seen his son HD Kumaraswamy appointed Chief Minister twice in the past two decades in Karnataka. However, this time, the party has lost ground everywhere including its stronghold ‘Southern Karnataka’.
