The Congress party has secured a decisive mandate in Karnataka Assembly Elections throwing the BJP out of their ‘Gateway Of South’. The BJP is hovering around 64 seats while the Congress looks set to win around 136 seats, way above the majority mark of 113 seats in the 224-seat assembly. The Congress win brought joy to party workers across India and its Himachal cadre was overjoyed. Congress leaders in Himachal Pradesh hailed the victory of the party as the defeat of politics of polarisation. They also said that this is the beginning of the countdown for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections where the BJP will again be defeated.
Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) chief Pratibha Singh congratulated the people of Karnataka and said that this win has raised the morale of the party workers. She said in a statement that the victory of the Congress in Karnataka, close on the heel of the defeat of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh, is an indication that winds are sailing against the BJP and the countdown for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls has begun.
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According to the Election Commission, the Congress is all set to win over 130 seats while the BJP has slipped around 65 seats. The JDS won just 19 seats. A quick comparison of poll results of Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka showed that Congress worked on a similar strategy and reaped its dividends. The major similarities were in the Congress manifesto that included many freebies.
Just like Himachal, Congress promised free electricity and monthly financial assistance for women. In the Himachal Pradesh election, the Congress had promised the return of the Old Pension Scheme, 5 lakh jobs, 1500 per month for women, 300 units of free electricity, Rs 10 litre milk purchase from dairy farmers and Rs 2 per kg cow dung purchase. In Karnataka, the Congress manifesto included the Old Pension Scheme extension, free electricity up to 200 units, Rs 3,000 per month for unemployed graduates, Rs 1,500 per month for unemployed diploma holders, free bus travels for women, and Rs 2000 per month for each woman head of the family. The Congress also promised a special allowance of Rs 5000 per month to police officials on night duty and one month’s extra pay per year to them.
With a sharp rise in petrol and LPG cylinder prices, the Congress promises appears to have struck the right chord with the voters. While the BJP manifesto promised many initiatives to empower youth and businesses, the party had stopped short of promising any freebies. These assurances as made by the Congress clubbed with anti-incumbency proved fatal for the BJP government which could not survive the precise onslaught made by the grand old party.
