Impact of Karnataka defeat ripples into BJP's Madhya Pradesh strategy

BJP’s recent Karnataka defeat has raised questions on whether the Congress will bag Madhya Pradesh as well, the elections for which are due towards the end of the year. As per a report in The Indian Express, the ripples of the embarrassment that the saffron party faced in the southern state could be seen in the recent Madhya Pradesh executive meeting of the party where senior leaders expressed their concerns over the ongoing internal rift in the BJP’s state unit.

The strained relationship between the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and BJP state unit president V D Sharma has left senior leaders of the party distressed. They have reportedly told the state leadership to resolve their differences as the countdown for the MP Assembly elections begins.

Top party leaders even warned of “serious consequences” taking Karnataka as an example, unless the differences are resolved and top state leaders work as a “single unit”, sources told the publication.

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The BJP could only win 66 seats in Karnataka as opposed to the 104 seats they bagged in 2018, while the grand old party won 135 seats.

Apart from the fears of intra-party rift affecting their political standing in the state, the anti-incumbency and the “fatigue factor” of the four-time CM are also a drawback for the BJP.

Speaking about changing the leadership, a party official told IE that the party’s hands are tied.

“We neither have time to replace the top leadership nor do we have too many choices. We have to work with the given set of leaders and within the existing circumstances.”

One of the highlights of the meeting was their decision to counter the anti-incumbency by stressing on the welfare programmes of the Chauhan govt which had gained popularity among the citizens. The party has been trying to rebrand Chauhan’s image on the basis of the goodwill of his popular schemes, like the Rs 100 crore for a temple of Sant Ravidas, introducing Hindu scriptures in govt schools, among others.

Given that Congress is also playing the Hindutva card aggressively and the Hindus making for 90 per cent of the state’s population, playing the religion card solely may be of no use to the BJP.

To counter that, the BJP is also trying to woo women voters and work on its caste dynamics in the state.

The similarities between the situation in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh warrant the worry of the saffron party. Both states saw the BJP come to power after 2018 as they toppled the Congress government. The Congress was a major opponent for the BJP in Karnataka, just like it is in MP, even as the BJP is striving hard to dodge the same fate that the party experienced in the South.