In her memoir, My Life in Indian Politics (penned by veteran journalist Rasheed Kidwai), former Union minister and Congress leader Mohsina Kidwai provides a deep-dive account of Indira Gandhi’s return to power after the 1977 rout post Emergency. To test her party’s popularity in the Hindi heartland, the former PM fielded Kidwai from Azamgarh in a Lok Sabha bypoll in 1978.
Mrs Gandhi, however, chose a much safer seat down south for herself to return to Parliament the same year — Chikmagalur in Karnataka. With the then chief minister Devraj Urs by her side, she defeated Janata candidate Veerendra Patil by more than 70,000 votes.
Almost two decades later, when her daughter-in-law Sonia Gandhi sought to enter Parliament by contesting a direct election, she decided to contest from two seats — the party pocket borough in Amethi and Bellary in Karnataka.
The battle royale between ‘videshi-bahu’ Sonia Gandhi and BJP leader and ‘swadeshi-beti’ Sushma Swaraj remains one of the most keenly contested and watched electoral contests in post-Independent India. Congress won Bellary again by more than 50,000 votes, though Sonia later relinquished this seat and retained Amethi, instead.
That the Congress’ first family has sought protection in Karnataka in the face of stiff electoral challenges thrown at them indicates a certain demographic and political cushion that the grand old party enjoys in the state.
Unlike in the Hindi heartland state of UP, where the Congress continued to experiment with upper caste leadership till the Mandal wave swept the party away in 1990, the Congress was able to reach out to a large section of subaltern intermediary caste groups in the south much earlier.
Devraj Urs was perhaps the first to gauge the numerical strength and aspirations of these communities to implement sub-division on Backward Class reservations. His political moves angered the Lingayats, who moved the Supreme Court. But the ensuing counter-polarisation helped him win another term in office.
Not just in Karnataka, Congress has managed to remain relevant in states across the country where it could develop leadership among numerically dominant Backward Classes.
Despite Sharad Pawar’s rebellion, the Congress retained power in Maharashtra for a long time under the leadership of strong Maratha leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh. In Rajasthan, under Ashok Gehlot, the party has managed to win three out of the last five elections. In Chhattisgarh, the party’s success remains intrinsically linked to the inroads made among Other Backward Classes — especially Kurmis and Sahus — in the central rice bowl.
Congress’ Geographic And Demographic Strength In Karnataka
As it prepares for a crucial battle to regain power in Karnataka this year, the Congress’ biggest strength is the party’s pan-state presence — both geographic and demographic.
While the JD(S) relies heavily on its performance in the old Mysuru region and Vokkaliga support base, the BJP on the other hand has had to do a fine balancing act in keeping the core-Lingayat constituency and other communities in good humour. Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s last-minute quota rejig aims to seek beyond what is already there in his party’s kitty.
The Congress in Karnataka has not only a state-wide presence, but also a string of leaders across caste and community lines. Its state unit is led by a Vokkaliga — DK Shivakumar. Its national president Malikarjun Kharge is a 'Right' Dalit from Hyderabad Karnataka. Other prominent leaders from the community include former deputy CM G Parameshwara. From the ‘Left’ Dalit, former Union minister K Muniappa remains a dominant face. To reach out to the Lingayats, the Congress has been able to project MB Patil as the chief of its campaign committee for the 2023 assembly polls.
In Karnataka, Dalits from numerically smaller sub-castes are labelled as the “right hand”, while the bigger sub-castes are called “Left hand”.
The BJP has, of late, sought to disrupt the Congress’ bandwagon by making a strong pitch by promoting three ‘Left’ Dalit leaders — Union minister A Narayanaswamy, Water Resources Minister Govind Karjol, and MP Ramesh Jigajinagi.
In Karnataka, the Congress’ ability to mobilise other backward communities outside the party-specific vote bank would be crucial to its prospects in the 2023 assembly polls.
Former party manager Ahmed Patel’s protracted negotiations in weaning away former CM Siddaramaiah — who belongs to the OBC Kurba community with an 8 percent population — from the JD(S) to the Congress was the critical difference that led the party to power 10 years back.
The 2023 polls are again a test of Siddaramaiah’s ability to stitch together a larger AHINDA coalition of intermediary agrarian communities, Backward Classes, Dalits, and minorities.
The author is an independent journalist who writes on politics and policy.
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