By Sushil Kutty
NCP Chief Sharad Pawar was the last political stalwart to jump into the Karnataka electoral showdown and predict the Congress will get the Karnataka electorate’s thumbs up in the May 10 assembly elections results of which will be out by May 13 afternoon. Pawar based his projection on hearsay because the NCP was battling its own demons and Pawar was nowhere close to Karnataka to be nearer to hazard a guess.
Pawar’s confidence in a Congress win might have gladdened the hearts of DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah. And there will be colour showing on every Congress face. Like when gold is washed in the Kolar gold fields and the sand in the pan shows colour! At the end of the vociferous high-decibel Karnataka election campaign both Congress and BJP cadre have come down from the rooftops.
On May 13, whichever party wins will set the tone for the celebrations. Sharad Pawar had plenty of time to study the Karnataka election scenario sitting at home. For the first time, the public learned – thanks to Sharad Pawar – that the “BJP is (only) in power in not more than 5-6 states”. Point is, how could so many of us miss this important fact?
Pawar’s Karnataka projection of a Congress victory rested on “some conversations” with “colleagues and media sources”. The Maharashtra strongman had no time for Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis who had said the BJP will retain Karnataka. The NCP Chief refused to entertain such depressing thoughts. He took to another alley: “If we look at the situation in the country, southern states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are not ruled by the BJP. Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Bengal and even Haryana are not ruled by the BJP.”
If that hasn’t lifted spirits, what else will? “We can say BJP holds power here (Maharashtra) but that’s only because of Shinde’s smartness. In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath Singh’s government collapsed because of poaching of MLAs, and that is how BJP came to power. So, technically, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat are the only states actually ruled by the BJP.”
Few analysts will dispute Pawar. His seniority and his reputation of a shrewd and cunning politician, with an ear always to the grassroots, ensures his assessments cannot be dumped in the dark recesses of the alley and forgotten in daylight. Sharad Pawar is the sort who has a veto on veto. That said, like so many others, with lesser political acumen, Sharad Pawar also will henceforth base his electoral projections for 2023/24 on the Karnataka outcome.
The political drama played out in the Nationalist Congress Party was enacted for a purpose. In one sentence, Sharad Pawar isn’t ready yet to call it a day. Right now couldn’t be a more opportune time to look like the most promising bet going forward. Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to be challenged by a strongman not by an inexperienced callow.
The Karnataka election campaign compelled Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make a ‘Gharwapsi’; return to the time-tested Hindutva appeasement. The Prime Minister’s ‘Pasmanda Muslim triptikaran’ experiment lies in tatters everywhere in Karnataka where Muslims are a force. It was impossible that the Pasmanda would vote for the BJP. Willy-nilly, Modi had to settle for ‘Gharwapsi’, bathe his roadshow in saffron flower-petals.
And make a fervent plea for ‘The Kerala Story’. Only a dim Pasmanda will not get the message. When every Muslim – Ashrafi and Pasmanda – was being painted in the demonic colours of love-Jihad, courtesy a film that was made in leisure (7 years), and with utmost pleasure, and now endorsed by the “Pasmanda-premi” Prime Minister himself! ‘The Kerala Story’ has made the ‘Average Abdul’ think about himself, and his community through fresh glasses
The Karnataka elections and, in the midst of it, ‘The Kerala Story’, has sent the message loud and colour. There isn’t a single opposition party that can ignore the movie’s message and what it holds for the five remaining 2023 assembly elections. Also to the 2024 general elections. Mamata Banerjee banned herself from the prime ministerial stakes with her ban on ‘The Kerala Story’.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Chouhan pronounced ‘The Kerala Story’ tax-free and the BJP might win yet another MP term. Chief Ministers Pinarayi Vijayan and MK Stalin just let the ambiance in their respective states speak to ensure the balance remained in their favour. If anything, ‘The Kerala Story’ has cemented the LDF and DMK’s hold in Kerala and Tamil Nadu respectively though TN BJP chief K Annamalai and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will beg to differ. (IPA Service)
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