One Take | It’s Corruption vs Reservation in K’taka. But is Cong Pitch Too Little, Too Stale?

“Jagdish Shettar was desperate to be an MLA. That’s why he decided to join the Congress. It’s all about the money,” owner of Hubli’s famous Renuka Peda sweet shop commented casually with a smile. That’s how normalised the concept of ‘making money’ is in Karnataka.

It’s taking on this money power and corruption that is at the core of the Congress campaign in upcoming Karnataka elections. ‘40% Sarkara’ is the campaign pitch unleashed by the Congress, a reference to allegations of 40% kickbacks in government contracts.

There are basically two factors at play in Karnataka elections, two campaign pitches that will decide the vote – corruption versus reservation. The ruling BJP has openly opposed 4% reservation for Muslims. With Union Home Minister Amit Shah declaring “the BJP opposes any reservation based on religion”, the party is hoping that the Hindutva vote-bank will be further crystallised in its favour, especially in its bastion north Karnataka.

North Karnataka is also the area where the Jagdish Shettar factor had worked in previous elections. He had helped the BJP assert its supremacy here.

With Shettar in its camp now, the Congress hopes to breach this turf. The BJP’s calculation is that its stand against Muslim reservation would counter the loss of Shettar factor.

Building its campaign around corruption in Karnataka, the Congress is planning to build on the pitch for 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well, where it will likely accuse the Narendra Modi government of “crony capitalism” and corruption. And herein lies the problem.

While state Congress leaders have not cosied up to the idea of Rahul Gandhi stressing on the Adani issue, they hope corruption charges against the Bommai government will swing the narrative in their favour. But if the Congress wants to paint Bommai as the symbol corruption, the BJP is hitting back with the same charge against DK Shivkumar, a CM aspirant in the Congress camp.

“It’s the pot calling the kettle black. Look at their CM face DK Shivkumar,” says a BJP leader while talking about the Congress’s ‘40% Sarakara’ campaign.

While the Congress has steered clear of projecting either DK Shivakumar or Siddaramaiah as the face of the party to control infighting, the BJP has started a whisper campaign that the grand old party will announce Shivakumar as the CM if it wins. The strategy is clear – Shivakumar, who went to jail and is facing an ED investigation, is the perfect tool to counter the ‘40% Sarkara’ campaign.

News18 travelled through Karwar, Hubli, Yellur and Belgavi and found that the Congress campaign has been met with some cynicism. As commissions are normalised, and even institutionalised, people have little hope of change.

“All we want is development, even if it means we have to pay commission for it,” says 21-year-old Aditya, a college student in Hubli.

Given the public response towards corruption as an election issue, is the Congress too little too stale?

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