How Karnataka elections will impact BJP's prospects in Madhya Pradesh
Would elections and their outcomes in faraway Karnataka impact the coming Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh?
Not to the extent they would have in a bordering state, but the BJP emerging as the single-largest party in Karnataka has given the party’s unit in Madhya Pradesh something to feel good about after a series of bypoll defeats in that state. MP goes to the elections at the end of the year and a defeat in Karnataka would have placed the ruling party at a psychological disadvantage before the crucial polls. Conversely, a clear Congress victory in Karnataka would have placed the Congress at an advantage.
Soon after the Karnataka election results were announced on May 15, the BJP’s MP unit gave credit for the increase in seats to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development agenda and party chief Amit Shah’s electoral strategies. Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan described Shah as the modernday Chanakya. It seemed as if the party was going out of its way to suggest that the ModiShah team are invincible and will ensure victory for the BJP in MP too. Why are Karnataka results seemingly having an impact on MP’s polls?
In an age of social media, the voter in Madhya Pradesh is getting almost real-time information of what is happening in the distant south Indian state with which it does not really have much in common. The government formation process has led to the creation of a number of jokes on the subject, which are being shared on social media too, keeping MP residents informed about developments in the southern state.
But does the BJP emerging as the single largest party in Karnataka mean smooth sailing for the BJP in MP and Chhattisgarh? Clearly, no. The issues affecting MP are very different and most importantly the BJP is defending its citadels in these states where it has been in power since 2003. It is the BJP that has to deal with the impact of threeterm anti-incumbency, which may get blunted a little by the PM’s popularity and Amit Shah’s deft election strategies but cannot be wished away.
The contest would be a direct one between the BJP and the Congress with no major third player to complicate matters. Of course, the BSP is a force to reckon within certain parts of MP and is said to traditionally damage the Congress’s prospects, but its impact will not be comparable to the JD(S) in Karnataka.
(Courtesy of Mail Today)