Comments by "Sankalp" (@sankalp6872) on "What’s behind BJP’s defeat in Karnataka: 5 reasons the party lost South foothold" video.

TRUE and HONEST by Amiresh. BJP deserves this BRUTAL TAKEDOWN from INC, Left-Middle-Right journos, and its friends. BJP FORGOT AND IGNORED ITS MIDDLE-CLASS VOTER BASE. BJP would have lost even with Yediyurappa at the helm, but the margin would have been less. One more FACTOR was the INC's very spirited campaign. HOWEVER, credit to Modi. He fought despite knowing he had so much baggage.
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Blame it on Amit Shah. This Govt was cobbled up by breaking JDS and INC MLAs. They were made minister and given free hand to loot. Had BJP remained in the Opposition it could have shot two birds in one stone and expanded itself in South Karnataka and destroy Siddha.
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@Mom_stealer_the_III Nope. The results were clear even before the campaign began. BJP's performance in the state was hopeless. BJP does not have a pan Karnataka presence. They are serious contenders in only 160 odd seats. The rest 64 are essentially INC vs JDS. BJP has no delivery and the corruption was visible (agreed, INC regimes charges no less that 40%). The image stuck. Bommai took a big hit. New leader should have been groomed.
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This requires some qualification. INC dominated all regions and not just Mysore. The intact 36% of the BJP is misleading. It may be on account of increased margins in their victorious constituencies but overall they lost because their voter shifted esp in Kittur Karnataka region.
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@Mom_stealer_the_III They knew. New faces, Modi Blitzkrieg, over Hindutva, reservation controversy etc were all last ditch efforts. The real problem is not the loss of Karnataka. They could have lost despite descent governance. Karnataka is not Gujarat it does not re-elect incumbent. The main issue would be BJP's loss of control over the narrative. Rahul's Bharat Jodo may not benefit Rahul but it is galvanising the dead Congress apparatus. The feared BJP IT Cell has lost its charm. BJP has its hands full.
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@Mom_stealer_the_III What choice did the people have? BJP doesn't own the Hindu vote. Chanting "Ram" is not the same as delivering "Ram Rajya". BJP will need to match its promises on the ground. I do not endorse socialism. Freebies don't help anyone, but in absence of employment or decent earnings people will get enticed by freebies.
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@arunsar7893 Agreed. However, as PM he cannot be expected to micromanage things either. Also, Bommai was never Modi's choice. Yediyurappa insisted on him because he wanted to control state unit through weak CMship. BJP could not have gone against him. Also, BJP was bound by Lingayat CM. Almost all of the BJP's Lingayat MLAs were groomed by Yediyurappa. It was an old stock with nobody having leadership qualities. BJP had far better talent among Dalits, Vokkaligas and Brahmins. I think they should have taken a gamble with a Vokkaliga instead of relying on a hung assembly, but BJP got scared and thought it would upset Lingayats.
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@arunsar7893 Agree. BJP won't be peeved by the loss of a "revolving govt" state that was never its citadel, nor would it be irked by INC's over-the-top celebrations because, in the context of Lok Sabha, they practically mean NOTHING. However, 3 things should concern the BJP: (1)Failure in grooming local leadership. Haryana is another state they should be worried (2) Congres has re-established itself as the NUMERO UNO challenger to the BJP. Bharat Jodo cannot be labeled as a failure to that extent now. (3) This comes from (2) a resurgent Congress will become a natural rallying point for the anti-BJP voters. The division in votes benefit is now officially out of the equation. These were also the issues in 2019, but Modi magic prevailed. Can it hold? Not unless BJP upgrades. Firstly, middle-class voters would be the key. They'll need to address the inflation concerns.
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