Karnataka Congress charts out blueprint for Lok Sabha polls; eyes 20 of 28 seats

Still exuding confidence after trouncing the BJP in Karnataka in May, the Congress hopes to win at least 20 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats next year in the southern state.

Preparations are already underway in the Congress to take on the combined forces of the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular) in the national battle to decide who gets to form the next government at the Centre.

The Congress has planned rallies and ‘padayatras’ to reach out to the public from December under the joint leadership of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar. The party will be showcasing the unity at the top in the state and also carry forward the social justice theory by involving important leaders of different communities.

The efforts are meant to repeat the outcome of the assembly elections in the Lok Sabha battle too, a senior Congress leader said.

Congress to tap into caste dynamics

The BJP had tried to retain power in May this year on the strength of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal but failed miserably. The Congress left the BJP far behind in the seat tally in the southern state.

This experiment can be emulated in the Lok Sabha election too, Congress sources said.

The Congress realises that it needs to give a shock to the BJP in the Lok Sabha battle. Five years back, the BJP swept 25 of the 28 seats, leaving the Congress with just three seats.

The Congress wants to turn the tables on the BJP this time, and at least bag 20 if not more seats.

The Congress will portray Siddaramaiah as an AHINDA leader, the acronym standing for Alpasankhyataru, Hindulidavaru and Dalitaru (or minority, backward class and SC/ST), Shivakumar as its Vokkaliga face, Dr G Parameshwara and Priyanka Kharge as Dalit faces, MB Patil and Eswar Khandre as Lingayat faces, and BZ Jameer Ahmed and KJ George as the minority faces, a Congress general secretary who did not want to be named told The Federal.

"This combination represents the caste and communities of the state,” he added. At the same time, Congress leaders M Mallikarjuna Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will add strength to the party's campaign. The party is confident because the Karnataka government has already implemented four of the five guarantees it gave to the voters.

Banking on Karnataka guarantees, preparing in advance

These include Stree Shakti (free bus service to women passengers), Griha Jyothi (₹2,000 to woman head of the family), free power up to 200 units and Anna Bhagya (free rice up to 10 kg for BPL families).

All these have swung the mood in favour of the Congress among the poor and disadvantages sections in both rural and urban areas.

The fifth guarantee - ₹3,000 allowance for unemployed graduates and ₹1,500 for unemployed diploma graduates - is to be implemented from December. The Congress will also harp on the alleged non-cooperation of the Modi government vis-à-vis Karnataka.

The Congress' strategy is to hit the ground four months ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. This will help the party to gauge the mood of the people and make corrections in its campaign if needed. There will be padayatras in all five regions of the state. This will help the leaders to connect with the party workers and mobilise them to work unitedly.

The Congress has prepared a blueprint to win at least 20 Lok Sabha seats, the party sources said. It plans to introduce some young faces, including from the National Students Union of India (NSUI).

All the ministers have been directed to work towards winning the Lok Sabha polls in their respective areas of influence. This was made clear to them when they met Kharge and Rahul in Delhi in October.

Shivakumar’s task cut out

Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar wants the 28 ministers as observers in each Lok Sabha constituency.

It will be the ministers’ duty to tour all the assembly segments of the Lok Sabha constituency entrusted to them, discuss with the district committees and give a list of potential candidates to the state president.

The potential candidates are already taking part in religious functions, fairs and other programmes. This is also a strategy the Congress embraced for the assembly elections.

A minister told The Federal that Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, wants to finalise the selection of candidates at least four months in advance.

“Shivakumar’s ambition is to win the maximum number of Lok Sabha seats to get closer to the Congress high command,” said the minister, adding he did not want to be identified by name or designation.