Sans Modi-Shah, BJP relied on stability, caste factor

winning formula

The call for ‘stability’ and wooing of the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat community helped the BJP home in victory in 12 out of the 15 constituencies in the bypolls.

The BJP faced the challenge of facing voters, having fielded 13 disqualified legislators, with the Congress and the JD(S) mounting an attack on ‘Operation Kamala’ and the manner in which the saffron party poached MLAs.

In response, the BJP sought votes on the ground that the victory of the disqualified legislators will mean a stable government for the next three years.

Frequent cries from the Congress and the JD(S) that the state might head towards a mid-term election helped the BJP double down on the ‘stability’ narrative. Also, at the grassroots, no legislator from across all parties was in the mood for a mid-term election.

This was the first major election for the BJP, in which it did not have Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to fall back on. So, it was entirely upon Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and his Cabinet colleagues to helm the party’s campaign.

The Congress and the JD(S), both desperate for vengeance, chose to counter the ‘stability’ narrative with that of ‘instability’. Besides sparking off talks about a mid-term poll, both parties even speculated about another alliance to form the government. This, observers say, may have caused disorientation among voters, nudging them to vote in favour of the BJP.

It also helped the BJP that some of the disqualified MLAs possessed their own clout in the constituencies. Plus, the Congress was a divided house going into the bypolls, owing to factionalism.

To give its ‘stability’ narrative more firepower, the BJP sought to consolidate the dominant Veerashaiva-Lingayat votes in its favour. Yediyurappa himself anchored this attempt, making a public appeal to the community to back the party in the bypolls. Law Minister J C Madhuswamy added to this, saying the state might not see another Lingayat as chief minister for the next 20 years if Yediyurappa is not voted to stay in power.

The Congress even lodged a complaint with the Election Commission against the BJP seeking votes in the name of caste.

The BJP had fielded four candidates from the Lingayat community - Mahesh Kumathalli (Athani), Shrimant Patil (Kagwad), B C Patil (Hirekerur) and Arunkumar Pujar (Ranebennur).

As it turns out, the vote share garnered by these four candidates exceeded 50% in their respective constituencies, which points to the likelihood that the BJP was indeed successful in consolidating the community’s votes.