NEW DELHI: Campaigning for the May 10 assembly election in the southern state of Karnataka is turning more interesting with each passing day. The tone and tenor of speeches by top leaders of both the ruling BJP and main opposition Congress are getting shriller and sharper.
Besides the election battle between the two traditional rivals, another war is being fought on a different level. That is between BJP president JP Nadda and his Congress counterpart Mallikarjun Kharge.
Besides heading the two largest parties of India, there are other similarities between Nadda and Kharge. For instance, both of them are Rajya Sabha MPs and both of them have studied law – Nadda, 62, did his LLB from his home state Himachal Pradesh while Kharge, 80, completed LLB from his home state of Karnataka.
Nadda took over as the national president of the BJP in January 2020 from Union home minister Amit Shah for a three-year tenure. His tenure has been extended till June 2024 in view of the next year’s Lok Sabha general election.
On the other hand, Kharge was elected the president of the Congress party in October last year and he took over the baton from Sonia Gandhi.
Himachal Pradesh, the home state of Nadda, was the first to go to polls in November after Kharge assumed the charge of Congress president. It was followed by Gujarat in December. Kharge campaigned extensively in both the states, particularly Himachal Pradesh.
The hill state proved lucky for Kharge as the Congress unseated the BJP. Nadda, despite putting all his efforts, faced embarrassment as the BJP lost the election in his home state under his presidency.
In the 2017 Himachal Pradesh assembly election, the BJP had won 44 out of the 68 seats. It garnered 48.79% votes.
On the other hand, the Congress had won 21 seats by fetching 41.68% votes.
In the 2022 Himachal Pradesh assembly election, the BJP won 25 seats and got 43% of vote share. The Congress was victorious on 40 seats. It received 43.9% vote share.
So, it is a 1-0 score between Kharge and Nadda at present. Now Kharge’s home state Karnataka faces assembly election.
Nadda has an opportunity to avenge the BJP’s defeat in Himachal Pradesh by registering a victory in Karnataka and scoring 1-1 against Kharge.
In the 2013 Karnataka assembly election, the BJP had won 40 of the total 224 seats and bagged 19.89% vote share.
The Congress had won 122 seats and garnered 36.59% votes. Former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] won 40 seats and got 20.19% vote share.
The 2018 Karnataka assembly election threw up a hung assembly. The BJP had won 104 seats and fetched 36.22% votes. The Congress won 78 seats and got 38.04% votes while JD(S) bagged 37 seats and garnered 18.36% votes.
Besides Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Shah and other senior BJP leaders, Nadda has been criss-crossing Karnataka in order to ensure that the party retains power in the state.
On the other hand, Kharge has been making a whirlwind tour of the nook and corner of his home state. He has the advantage of speaking in Kannada.
The question is will Nadda be able to equalise and make it 1-1 or Kharge will score a 2-0 against his BJP counterpart in Karnataka?
