BackKiran Mazumdar-Shaw analyses reasons behind Congress' win in Karnataka
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw attributed to three key metrics that led to the victory of the Congress party in Karnataka.
PremiumThe Indian National Congress party registered an emphatic victory in Karnataka on Saturday. Congress won 135 seats against 66 for the BJP in the 224-member legislature.
Biocon chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, who is vocal about infrastructure-related issues in Karnataka's capital Bengaluru, shared a tweet after Congress won the election. The business tycoon attributed to three key metrics that led to the victory of the Congress party in Karnataka.
Shaw wrote, "Just woke up to the news in Los Angeles that @INCIndia got a resounding mandate from the people of Karnataka". She added, "Infrastructure development, economic prosperity, and social harmony are the metrics that people will measure to elect its representatives".
The Congress party's fortunes had shrunk to a historic low since losing power at the national level to Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP in 2014. The party also struggled in several state assembly elections, winning only Himachal Pradesh recently.
Also, the defeat in Karnataka is a rare blow for the BJP considering Modi remains highly popular after nine years in power.
Congress' vote share zoomed to 42.88%; that of JD(S) dropped to 13.29%. BJP's vote share was 36%.
Several political experts have said that the Congress party won in Karnataka because of an aggressive pro-poor campaign
A campaign against corruption, guarantees of dole, and consolidation of Muslim votes appear to have underpinned the Congress victory that was also aided by anti-incumbency against the BJP government.
The Congress also hailed the Bharat Jodo Yatra for the party's success in the home state of party president Mallikarjun Kharge having won 15 of the 20 assembly constituencies in the state the Rahul Gandhi-led foot march passed through.
The BJP suffered massive losses in its bastion of northern Karnataka, a stronghold of the Lingayat community which had traditionally supported it. Quite a few BJP rebels have won, while a large number of Lingayat candidates of the Congress have also scored victories.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the Congress for its win and wished the party the best in its endeavour to fulfilling people's aspirations.
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