This article was first published on TOI | May 13, 2023.
Congress’s Karnataka victory in the only state south of the Vindhyas where BJP held power, marks significant departures in the local political matrix. It also has several implications for national politics. At the local level, this election has been bookended by several major shifts in Karnataka’s regions and social groupings….
..Beyond Karnataka, what does this result mean for national politics?
With a strong anti-incumbency sentiment against BJP in a state that hasn’t elected an incumbent to power in over three decades, Congress was always expected to win. Yet, the scale of the victory (136 seats with over 43% vote-share — and a 7% gap with the BJP) is a big morale booster for the main national opposition party.
Karnataka has the third biggest economy of any state in India (after Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu). Winning control of such a prosperous and politically significant state is a fillip to Congress on the road to 2024…
Read the full opinion in The Times of India
This article was first published on TOI | May 13, 2023
