Is Indian polity accountable, i am sure most would agree with me its not. But has not stopped me and neither will it stop others like me to make a contribution for the better of our polity. Blaming lack of accountability on politicians and their chamchas may be a easy, but are we helping the cause that we are fighting for - i guess no.
Few weeks back i wrote a lengthy email but yet a relevant one as for as Congress party is concerned in Karnataka. Rather than going through why i am taking so much pains to talk about congress, lets assumei am one of its ardent supporters. My email detailed about the state of affairs in karnataka congress party and given that the loksabha elections are around the corner - my observations and understanding the people and their mood in rural and urban karnataka, i felt were important to be relayed to Congress party president.
I started off by sending an email to Madam Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Sachin Pilot and others...but in vain, no one even bothered to acknowledge my email let alone look into it and see if it made sense. My beleif that i can make the voice heard made me call up the congress leadership but would it matter anything to them, exactly you gussed it they thought i was a fool or a naive to think my email can make a difference. But the eternal optimist in me kept trying until i found Sachin Pilot's secrecatry and Madam Gandhi's home office manager.
Sachin Pilot's secretary initially lived upto the expectation of being a young modern MPs assistant by asking me to email him and did all the talk of arranging a telecon with Mr.Pilot - and even after two weeks when i called him, he gave a balant lie that Mr.Pilot was out of town and hence he could not put up my email to him, when the very same day Mr.Pilot spoke to a NDTV journalist at the Congress office in Delhi.
Sonia Gandhi's home office manager was very courteous and explained his difficulty and his remit not to interfere on political matters and asked me to contact Ahmed Patel.
After two weeks of calling Mr.Patel's home - as he works mostly from there, i got through to one of his assistants Mr.Pandya, who asked me to call either on monday or after 10pm on saturday 31st Jan 2009. Would i call, you guess it i still did, the dreamer and optimist in me made me do it.
When i called at 10pm and asked for Mr. Patel, his assistants picked the phone and after hearing my name they just put it on hold for 30mins when i could hear them laughing and joking about a guy living in UK and wanting to talk to shaeb who is the Right hand man of Soniaji- their words were "He should be a fool and making all types of sidy remarks". The pride in me put the phone down and here i am ranting about it.
Would all this hurt me or affect my dreams or optimism, certainly not. They have indeed given me the requsite motivation levels to make my point more effectively and to do this, i guess becoming a politican is important, as what use of if they dont listen to their people even if it for their good.
The convinction in me to become a politician has not only got a relevant motivation, but its also a challenge to prove to these politicians and their babus that if one forgets the people they will have to forget leading them.
Its strange how we have let politicians rule us, rather than electing the right politicians who can represent us. We need politicians with vision and compassion. Either there can be two types of leaders one who will lead from the front and other who will take everyone along with him/her.
Rather than blaming the politicians for all the ills, lets blame ourselfs and corect our past mistakes by making the right choices.
Well, i felt good ranting here, in this vast unknown world wide web, where on one cares about the other and yet they are with you if you sing the right tunes.
Seeyou all, let me call Mr.Ahmed Patel's home office again.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Open letter to Congress Leadership
Dear Mrs Gandhi,
Sub: State of affairs in Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee
I take this opportunity to introduce myself as Ashwin Kumaraswamy - citzen of India, currently living and working in UK as an Investment Manager.
Knowing very well and fully aware, that my emails might not reach you in person for various reasons, the eternal optimist in me has prompted to write this email to you to discuss few political and developmental issues.
I need not go overboard in trying to prove my loyalty to the party or Nehru- Gandhi family - the very reason i am writing this email and have written letters on various ocassions to Madam Gandhi from 2002 is an indication that i have the best interests of India and Congress party.My hope that this would reach you is based on an acknowledgement i receieved from your office that it would bring this email to your notice. But I still hope this email would reach you in person.
Let me now get to the issue which i want to raise and i am very concerned abaout.
Comming straight to the issue that has concerned me and that which can be averted to save Congress party in Karnataka.
1. RV Deshpande and DK Shivakumar have been made incharge of the congress party in Karnataka state - a decision which could potentially boomerang unless havaing proper checks and balances - this is not a mere statement. This comes from my experience of travelling across karnataka (urban and rural to understand the people and their issues).
2. Though the party has leaders like Kharge, Siddramaiah, Krishna, Moily, Oscar Fernandes and others - but apart from Siddaramiah and to an extent Krishna the others have absolutelu no acceptance across Karnataka (DK Shivakaumar is an exception, but i would put him togther with Krishna).
3. Party needs a image make over if it has to do well in the coming Loksaba elections, given the money power used by BJP along with the caste card played by Yeddyurappa - Congress party needs to rediscover itself.
It would be foolishness to think caste does not play a role in politics and so is money, but this can be countered by having leaders who can cut across caste lines and also who can speak to people in their own different ways by capturing their imagination.For this to happen the party needs to identify core group of people who can take that responsibility (this does involve managing expectations, but that needs to be done). As of today, i dont see any leader barring Siddaramiah (egostic and would hold the party to ransosm like he did in the recently concluded by elections), Krishna/DK Shivakumar (DK needs to have a image makeover in terms of management style as he is perceived to be very rough and people would immediately associate him to be leader of a local rough men), who could help the party. But this leaves the regions of Shimoga, Mangalore, Karwar (we have now sidelined Ms.Alva for airing what is the fact that Congress leaders do seel tickets, not that she held sway over the region. Also i am sorry to say the issue she raised has lots of merit atleast Karnataka is concerned - l dont want to take names and neither do i have the proof to back my claims, but does one need a proof to prove glaring fact? There are a lot of power brokers without genuine mass base in the party who command far more respect from the party leadership thana they deserve, to add to this neither are they real mass leaders) and North Karnataka. Looking at the caste combination here and crowd pulling capabilities there is no one in Congress who could do this work - hence the reason Congress lost the assembly elections and will be the reason for Congress to do badly in the upcomming loksabha election if not rectified.
I am sure this is very well known to you - given the situation, my suggestion is get back some of the leaders to Congress fold and give prominence to some party faithfuls. One such person is Bangarappa (each time he has left congress, he has damaged it in karnataka, he might not have done good to himself, but he has damaged party prospects) - he could cover the regions of Mangalore, Karwar, Udupi, Davengere. But the North Karnataka region where lingayats dominate and muslims have a sizeable population there is no leader. Hence here we should project a new face in the party or get some new face to help build the bridge. Self styled and leaders whom you have given prominence like Kharge, Dharm Singh - have literally no mass appeal and also across Karnataka people dont accept these two leaders for various reasons (i can give many a reasons - but let us assume they dont have the acceptance, else they would have helped congress come to power in that region).
My suggestions and thoughts on leaders Congress should get into its fold to have even a remotely descent showing in the upcomming loksabha elections would be:
1. S Bangarappa - may have lost the recent assembly elections in Karnataka, but the man is a maverick, he has the audacity to tell the people that they were wrong in electing or not electing him. Also he has a band of dedicated followers who will work with him, cutting across party lines. He can rejuvnate the party in the Karwar, Shimoga, Mangalore, Udupi, Davengere and Koppal belt. He does not have any expectations now, he understands he is on the last leg of his political career, he just wants to cap it off with a high by defeating BJP and taking a sweet revenge on Yeddyurappa and his former proteges.
2. Party needs a Muslim leader of significance - the only one i see with any stature is Jaffer Sherrif, but i guess he is a sort of spent force in the state. But this can be revived by giving him some responsibility.
3. As for the lingayat community - there is no leader in the party to command the respect the same way Yeddyurappa, hence we need to break this down into a group of people who the responsibility can be entrusted for every district. Likes of H K Patil, M P Prakash would work provided they are given due importance in decision making. Along with HK Patil, MP Prakash - Kharge and Dharm Singh could serve the party in their pocket boroughs of Gulbarga. This still leaves Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum still up for grabs so is Hubli.
4. A T Ramaswamy - he could help the party in the urban areas, as during the JDS-BJP tenure, he did a wonderful job in unearthing the land mafia in bangalore - an ex-congress man was pushed to join JDS when he was not given ticket to contest 2004 elections. Probabaly the only honest politician in karnataka in letter and spirits. Who could do wonders in Hassan Dist and urban areas. He has never been behind any posts nor is he power hungry, he would work for Congress in terms of fresh face as well as one the people can connect to because of his simplicity. He is not corrupt and would not let corrupt practices go un-checked. There is a healthy competition to get him on board by BJP and JDS is trying hard to retain him. He is the only person who can give back to Gowda and yet get patted by him for being upfront and correct in his judgement, a very rare breed of politician.
5. Bring new and fresh faces, who are articulate, and yet connect to the people and give them tickets to contest.
Thus congress can slavage to a descent prospect in the coming Loksabha elections.
Else Congress would find it very difficult to win in Bangalore South, Bangalore North, Bellary, Davengere, Shimoga, Udupi-Chikamangalur, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Hassan, Raichur, Koppal, Mysore, Mangalore, Tumkur, Chitradurga, for sure and the rest is up for grabs with good competition.
Today there are no seats in Karnataka, where one can say it is a safe Congress seat. Bellary was squandered to BJP by the corrupt congress politicians.
Please consider my genuine and humble suggestion and have a look at the KPCC and make the necessary changes that would help the party.
I would not expect anything from writing this post, but again the optimisim in me, has made me do this, not expecting any results as Lord Krishna say "Do your duties and leave the fruits of the hardwork to the almighty god". I have made an effort to bring my concerns to the notice of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and Sachin Pilot - but you all know how things work in India, there is handly any accountability even on receiving my emails, and faxes.
I sometimes wonder, if i am stupid in writing this post knowing very well it does not and will not serve any purpose, but the satisifaction in me that i did my best will keep my spirits up and hopefully it would lead me to join Indian polity sooner than later. Afterall failures is the stepping stone for success.
Thanks & Kind Regards
Ashwin
Sub: State of affairs in Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee
I take this opportunity to introduce myself as Ashwin Kumaraswamy - citzen of India, currently living and working in UK as an Investment Manager.
Knowing very well and fully aware, that my emails might not reach you in person for various reasons, the eternal optimist in me has prompted to write this email to you to discuss few political and developmental issues.
I need not go overboard in trying to prove my loyalty to the party or Nehru- Gandhi family - the very reason i am writing this email and have written letters on various ocassions to Madam Gandhi from 2002 is an indication that i have the best interests of India and Congress party.My hope that this would reach you is based on an acknowledgement i receieved from your office that it would bring this email to your notice. But I still hope this email would reach you in person.
Let me now get to the issue which i want to raise and i am very concerned abaout.
Comming straight to the issue that has concerned me and that which can be averted to save Congress party in Karnataka.
1. RV Deshpande and DK Shivakumar have been made incharge of the congress party in Karnataka state - a decision which could potentially boomerang unless havaing proper checks and balances - this is not a mere statement. This comes from my experience of travelling across karnataka (urban and rural to understand the people and their issues).
2. Though the party has leaders like Kharge, Siddramaiah, Krishna, Moily, Oscar Fernandes and others - but apart from Siddaramiah and to an extent Krishna the others have absolutelu no acceptance across Karnataka (DK Shivakaumar is an exception, but i would put him togther with Krishna).
3. Party needs a image make over if it has to do well in the coming Loksaba elections, given the money power used by BJP along with the caste card played by Yeddyurappa - Congress party needs to rediscover itself.
It would be foolishness to think caste does not play a role in politics and so is money, but this can be countered by having leaders who can cut across caste lines and also who can speak to people in their own different ways by capturing their imagination.For this to happen the party needs to identify core group of people who can take that responsibility (this does involve managing expectations, but that needs to be done). As of today, i dont see any leader barring Siddaramiah (egostic and would hold the party to ransosm like he did in the recently concluded by elections), Krishna/DK Shivakumar (DK needs to have a image makeover in terms of management style as he is perceived to be very rough and people would immediately associate him to be leader of a local rough men), who could help the party. But this leaves the regions of Shimoga, Mangalore, Karwar (we have now sidelined Ms.Alva for airing what is the fact that Congress leaders do seel tickets, not that she held sway over the region. Also i am sorry to say the issue she raised has lots of merit atleast Karnataka is concerned - l dont want to take names and neither do i have the proof to back my claims, but does one need a proof to prove glaring fact? There are a lot of power brokers without genuine mass base in the party who command far more respect from the party leadership thana they deserve, to add to this neither are they real mass leaders) and North Karnataka. Looking at the caste combination here and crowd pulling capabilities there is no one in Congress who could do this work - hence the reason Congress lost the assembly elections and will be the reason for Congress to do badly in the upcomming loksabha election if not rectified.
I am sure this is very well known to you - given the situation, my suggestion is get back some of the leaders to Congress fold and give prominence to some party faithfuls. One such person is Bangarappa (each time he has left congress, he has damaged it in karnataka, he might not have done good to himself, but he has damaged party prospects) - he could cover the regions of Mangalore, Karwar, Udupi, Davengere. But the North Karnataka region where lingayats dominate and muslims have a sizeable population there is no leader. Hence here we should project a new face in the party or get some new face to help build the bridge. Self styled and leaders whom you have given prominence like Kharge, Dharm Singh - have literally no mass appeal and also across Karnataka people dont accept these two leaders for various reasons (i can give many a reasons - but let us assume they dont have the acceptance, else they would have helped congress come to power in that region).
My suggestions and thoughts on leaders Congress should get into its fold to have even a remotely descent showing in the upcomming loksabha elections would be:
1. S Bangarappa - may have lost the recent assembly elections in Karnataka, but the man is a maverick, he has the audacity to tell the people that they were wrong in electing or not electing him. Also he has a band of dedicated followers who will work with him, cutting across party lines. He can rejuvnate the party in the Karwar, Shimoga, Mangalore, Udupi, Davengere and Koppal belt. He does not have any expectations now, he understands he is on the last leg of his political career, he just wants to cap it off with a high by defeating BJP and taking a sweet revenge on Yeddyurappa and his former proteges.
2. Party needs a Muslim leader of significance - the only one i see with any stature is Jaffer Sherrif, but i guess he is a sort of spent force in the state. But this can be revived by giving him some responsibility.
3. As for the lingayat community - there is no leader in the party to command the respect the same way Yeddyurappa, hence we need to break this down into a group of people who the responsibility can be entrusted for every district. Likes of H K Patil, M P Prakash would work provided they are given due importance in decision making. Along with HK Patil, MP Prakash - Kharge and Dharm Singh could serve the party in their pocket boroughs of Gulbarga. This still leaves Bijapur, Bagalkot, Belgaum still up for grabs so is Hubli.
4. A T Ramaswamy - he could help the party in the urban areas, as during the JDS-BJP tenure, he did a wonderful job in unearthing the land mafia in bangalore - an ex-congress man was pushed to join JDS when he was not given ticket to contest 2004 elections. Probabaly the only honest politician in karnataka in letter and spirits. Who could do wonders in Hassan Dist and urban areas. He has never been behind any posts nor is he power hungry, he would work for Congress in terms of fresh face as well as one the people can connect to because of his simplicity. He is not corrupt and would not let corrupt practices go un-checked. There is a healthy competition to get him on board by BJP and JDS is trying hard to retain him. He is the only person who can give back to Gowda and yet get patted by him for being upfront and correct in his judgement, a very rare breed of politician.
5. Bring new and fresh faces, who are articulate, and yet connect to the people and give them tickets to contest.
Thus congress can slavage to a descent prospect in the coming Loksabha elections.
Else Congress would find it very difficult to win in Bangalore South, Bangalore North, Bellary, Davengere, Shimoga, Udupi-Chikamangalur, Mangalore, Hubli, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur, Hassan, Raichur, Koppal, Mysore, Mangalore, Tumkur, Chitradurga, for sure and the rest is up for grabs with good competition.
Today there are no seats in Karnataka, where one can say it is a safe Congress seat. Bellary was squandered to BJP by the corrupt congress politicians.
Please consider my genuine and humble suggestion and have a look at the KPCC and make the necessary changes that would help the party.
I would not expect anything from writing this post, but again the optimisim in me, has made me do this, not expecting any results as Lord Krishna say "Do your duties and leave the fruits of the hardwork to the almighty god". I have made an effort to bring my concerns to the notice of Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Ahmed Patel and Sachin Pilot - but you all know how things work in India, there is handly any accountability even on receiving my emails, and faxes.
I sometimes wonder, if i am stupid in writing this post knowing very well it does not and will not serve any purpose, but the satisifaction in me that i did my best will keep my spirits up and hopefully it would lead me to join Indian polity sooner than later. Afterall failures is the stepping stone for success.
Thanks & Kind Regards
Ashwin
Congress party decline in Karnataka
If one looks at the political history of Karnataka, it has been synonymous with how Congress party has travelled its after independence political history. Congress was the party people associated with and were proud to serve in even though crores of its followers did not enjoy the benefits of political power, because they felt the movement was more important than the momentarliy political power which was in the clutches of few power brokers.
Today, like how Congress cant form government on its own at the centre, in karnataka it cant dream of comming to power for the next 15yrs or so. This is not a mere statement, but based on my observations and travelling in urban and rural Karnataka on my every holiday. There are few glaring examples which can easily tell the story. Bellary a congress bastion today a fortress of BJP, oops the Reddy brothers of the mining fame, Mangalore - whose people are known for their business and political acumen has not seen a Congress MP for 15 odd yrs, Bangalore South, which is the most educated constituency in Karnataka has not seen a Congress MP since mid 1990s. Are these the only examples, i would say No, the upcomming loksabha elections would be a reality check to congress party in karnataka because - it is at its weakest position for the last 60yrs.
Comming to my observations on whay Congress has lost its pre-eminence position in karnataka polity:
1. Lack of genuine mass leaders - today congress party in karnataka is in the clutches of power brokers, sychopants and inefficcient leaders whose only claim to pecking order is their proximity to 10 Janapath.
Leaders like Moily, Poojary, Deshpande, Kharge, Dharm Singh, Ugrappa, Munniyappa - none are mass leaders, it would be difficult for them to wiwn elections on their own without the Congress symbol, may be barring kharge because of the caste factor.
2. Power brokers running the show in Congress - Ministers like Munniyappa are hardly known for their work in their own constituencies and whay more can one expects from such MPs as ministers. Someone like Moily for all the hardwork he puts in, he is ineffective, because he spends more time on scuppering others chances to fame just to remain in limelight.
3. Neither populist nor efficient - those leaders like Moily, Kharge, Dharm Singh, Deshpande, Krishna who have occupied every possible political power in the state, have shown lack of skills in understanding the needs and requirements of the people. Krishna during his tenure claimed to fame the software industry success was due to his policies, but he has forgotten that it was Verendra patil, Bangarappa regimes which laid the baisc foundation.
4. Egoistic leadership - politicians like Siddramaiah, Krishna, DK Shivakumar, though have an appeal and to an extent mass base, want everything the party can give in one go, but how much have they delivered to the party success?? highly questionable. The antics of Siddaramaiah during the recently concluded by elections was a slap on the face for congress leadership. Unlike Bangarappa none of these leaders have the audacity or the conviction to be daring and go to the people for their every actions. Each time Bangarappa (no doubt was egoistic, this is because of self pride in his capabilities and his pride against those sychophats in Congress like Moily, Poojary and others) went outside Congress he harmed it more than Congress could recover. Did anyone even ponder why Bangarappa did this to congress thrice?? The answer is No, because inefficient state leaders in Congress were just happy to get rid of populist and mass leader and his exit eventually made competition comparitively less to grab the attention of central leadership.
5. No place for dedicated and honest politicians in Congress peking order - HK Patil, MP Prakash are few to mention, but the most glaring omission was when Congress could not hold on to gems like A T ramaswamy, who later joined JD(S) and did a very laudable job of helping bangaloreans against the land mafia as chairman of bangalore land encorachment enquiry committee.
6. Congress becoming irrelevant in Karnataka in many constituencies - sandwiched between the Vokaliga strong JD(S) and Lingayat, Brahmin dominant BJP.
Today, no community would support Congress barring the OBCs to an extent, hence Congress is trying hard to placate Siddaramiah (Kuruba factor), but the question is, how many constituencies can Kuruba factor work and it would be foolish to think, Kurubas would vote for congress in every constituency because of Siddaramiah.
Whereas JD(S) is strong in districts like Hassan, Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur - predominantly the south karnataka belt or popularly known as the Mysore belt. and BJP is strong is Bangalore, Mangalore, Chikamangalur, Bellary, Bidar, Belgaum, Davengere, Karwar, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Hubli, Kodagu, Haveri, Gadag.
That leaves the rest of karnataka where congres and the others will fight for victory. Today there is no consitituency in karnataka which can be said as a congress bastion based on current political scenario.
If its not enough Congress has been have a lot of infighting off late between different groups of leadership of whom many dont have a mass following. If one looks at the Siddaramiah fiasco, and the delay in taking Bangarappa to Congress fold just to placate the large egos of spineless leaders in congress who cant deliver anything to party success likes Moily, Poojary, Deshpande, Munniyappa and others. The answer is written very clearly if the Congres does not get its act together, it has the face the political wilderness in comming days.
I am afraid if the Congress leadership doesnot see this, it would be the last of Congress we would hear for atleast the next decade or so in karnataka. Is it an opportunity or new and young leadership to mushroom, might be - but having observed Congress very closely in its highs and lows - i doubt it will learn the lesson. They lost UP, Bihar, Gujrat earlier and now we can potrentially add Karnataka to the list.
Today, like how Congress cant form government on its own at the centre, in karnataka it cant dream of comming to power for the next 15yrs or so. This is not a mere statement, but based on my observations and travelling in urban and rural Karnataka on my every holiday. There are few glaring examples which can easily tell the story. Bellary a congress bastion today a fortress of BJP, oops the Reddy brothers of the mining fame, Mangalore - whose people are known for their business and political acumen has not seen a Congress MP for 15 odd yrs, Bangalore South, which is the most educated constituency in Karnataka has not seen a Congress MP since mid 1990s. Are these the only examples, i would say No, the upcomming loksabha elections would be a reality check to congress party in karnataka because - it is at its weakest position for the last 60yrs.
Comming to my observations on whay Congress has lost its pre-eminence position in karnataka polity:
1. Lack of genuine mass leaders - today congress party in karnataka is in the clutches of power brokers, sychopants and inefficcient leaders whose only claim to pecking order is their proximity to 10 Janapath.
Leaders like Moily, Poojary, Deshpande, Kharge, Dharm Singh, Ugrappa, Munniyappa - none are mass leaders, it would be difficult for them to wiwn elections on their own without the Congress symbol, may be barring kharge because of the caste factor.
2. Power brokers running the show in Congress - Ministers like Munniyappa are hardly known for their work in their own constituencies and whay more can one expects from such MPs as ministers. Someone like Moily for all the hardwork he puts in, he is ineffective, because he spends more time on scuppering others chances to fame just to remain in limelight.
3. Neither populist nor efficient - those leaders like Moily, Kharge, Dharm Singh, Deshpande, Krishna who have occupied every possible political power in the state, have shown lack of skills in understanding the needs and requirements of the people. Krishna during his tenure claimed to fame the software industry success was due to his policies, but he has forgotten that it was Verendra patil, Bangarappa regimes which laid the baisc foundation.
4. Egoistic leadership - politicians like Siddramaiah, Krishna, DK Shivakumar, though have an appeal and to an extent mass base, want everything the party can give in one go, but how much have they delivered to the party success?? highly questionable. The antics of Siddaramaiah during the recently concluded by elections was a slap on the face for congress leadership. Unlike Bangarappa none of these leaders have the audacity or the conviction to be daring and go to the people for their every actions. Each time Bangarappa (no doubt was egoistic, this is because of self pride in his capabilities and his pride against those sychophats in Congress like Moily, Poojary and others) went outside Congress he harmed it more than Congress could recover. Did anyone even ponder why Bangarappa did this to congress thrice?? The answer is No, because inefficient state leaders in Congress were just happy to get rid of populist and mass leader and his exit eventually made competition comparitively less to grab the attention of central leadership.
5. No place for dedicated and honest politicians in Congress peking order - HK Patil, MP Prakash are few to mention, but the most glaring omission was when Congress could not hold on to gems like A T ramaswamy, who later joined JD(S) and did a very laudable job of helping bangaloreans against the land mafia as chairman of bangalore land encorachment enquiry committee.
6. Congress becoming irrelevant in Karnataka in many constituencies - sandwiched between the Vokaliga strong JD(S) and Lingayat, Brahmin dominant BJP.
Today, no community would support Congress barring the OBCs to an extent, hence Congress is trying hard to placate Siddaramiah (Kuruba factor), but the question is, how many constituencies can Kuruba factor work and it would be foolish to think, Kurubas would vote for congress in every constituency because of Siddaramiah.
Whereas JD(S) is strong in districts like Hassan, Mysore, Mandya, Tumkur - predominantly the south karnataka belt or popularly known as the Mysore belt. and BJP is strong is Bangalore, Mangalore, Chikamangalur, Bellary, Bidar, Belgaum, Davengere, Karwar, Bagalkot, Dharwad, Hubli, Kodagu, Haveri, Gadag.
That leaves the rest of karnataka where congres and the others will fight for victory. Today there is no consitituency in karnataka which can be said as a congress bastion based on current political scenario.
If its not enough Congress has been have a lot of infighting off late between different groups of leadership of whom many dont have a mass following. If one looks at the Siddaramiah fiasco, and the delay in taking Bangarappa to Congress fold just to placate the large egos of spineless leaders in congress who cant deliver anything to party success likes Moily, Poojary, Deshpande, Munniyappa and others. The answer is written very clearly if the Congres does not get its act together, it has the face the political wilderness in comming days.
I am afraid if the Congress leadership doesnot see this, it would be the last of Congress we would hear for atleast the next decade or so in karnataka. Is it an opportunity or new and young leadership to mushroom, might be - but having observed Congress very closely in its highs and lows - i doubt it will learn the lesson. They lost UP, Bihar, Gujrat earlier and now we can potrentially add Karnataka to the list.
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