SAFFRON’S SOUTHERN SOJOURN
In the 2019 general election, Karnataka was the only state in the south where the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) notched up more than half the vote share (51.4 per cent). The five states in the region send 129 members to Parliament, so it was no surprise that a concerted campaign was launched to enlarge the saffron footprint before 2024 and the next Lok Sabha election. The party also knew that for this to happen, leveraging the state assembly election was crucial like it did in Karnataka in 2018 (it polled 36.2 per cent of the vote and fell just nine short of the majority in the 224-seat house).
The BJP is not in a similar position in any other southern state but it is making deft moves to widen the support base and become a force in the state assemblies, all of which go to the polls before 2024 (except for Andhra Pradesh, where election is scheduled the same year as the general election). Long-term strategies differ, though, from one state to the next. Social engineering by winning over select disadvantaged groups, taking on board their issues and espousing their cause, and the tried-and-tested poll booth-level committees are common strategies. But to become a decisive presence, wooing and enlisting local political heavyweights and influencers is essential, and that depends on the ground realities in individual states.
In July 2019, soon after the Lok Sabha poll, the BJP appointed B.L. Santhosh as general secretary (organisation). Santhosh, a native of Udupi in Karnataka, had played a big role in the party’s rise in the state. He was now entrusted with ‘Mission Kamalam’, or voter sheet in-charge (who is assigned pages of the voters’ lists). While Tamil Nadu and Kerala head for the assembly polls in April-May next, Karnataka and Telangana are set for April and November 2023, and Andhra Pradesh in April-May 2024.
