Under a scorching sun and amidst a severe drought, 14 constituencies in northern and central Karnataka are going to the polls on May 7. Complaints about regional imbalances and unkept promises — especially related to irrigation projects — are an undercurrent, though constantly overshadowed by communal narratives and the blame game between parties in the last leg of the campaign.
The emergence of right-wing activism in the aftermath of the 1992 Idgah riots in Hubballi and the subsequent political realignment in the region, with members of the Janata Parivar shifting to the saffron party, has severely affected the Congress’ prospects in the region. The party’s efforts to regain its glory have not yielded big results yet.
In the 2004, 2009, and 2014 elections, the Congress never got more than three seats out of the total 14 seats in northern and central Karnataka. Despite aligning with the Janata Dal (Secular) in 2019, the Congress was washed out in the region, with the BJP making a clean sweep. Under the changed political equations, the JD(S) has tied up with the BJP this time around, but is not contesting any seats in this region.
