Battle lines are drawn, but…”Wait and Watch”

A scene from the epic – Mahabharata. The stage is all set for the Great War.  Arjuna is under confusion. He expresses it with his friend philosopher and guide- Krishna. “With whom I have to fight..? My own relatives, beloveds, friends, teachers..? Why..? For the sake of power..? How can we enjoy power after killing all of them…?”

Now let us have a look at the present situation of the state. The battle line is drawn for the assembly elections. May 5 is the “D” day. All the major political parties are busy in poll preparation.  But the confusion prevails in all political parties.

Leaders of the century old party Congress are in the upbeat after the spectacular win in the recently concluded Urban Local Body (ULB) elections. They are now confident of clinching power from the BJP and rule the state after sitting in the opposition for about 7 years.

However selection of candidates has many seething in Congress. Trouble has started brewing in the party over the selection of candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in the State. Several senior leaders of the party have already lodged complaints with the high command on the way the KPCC election committee prepared a list of probable candidates.

Ironically, a pro-Congress breeze blowing in the state is likely to dash the aspirations of women seeking ticket from a party led by a woman, Sonia Gandhi. Women Congress leaders, who hoped that the party would give at least one seat in every district for them, are dispirited. The party bigwigs are competing against one another to contest, some of them trying for tickets to their close relatives.

Adding to the woes of the party aspirants are the guidelines drafted by  Rahul Gandhi and the leaders of the other parties who are tapping the doors of Congress. Many of the senior Congress leaders may not get the party tickets if the guidelines of Rahul Gandhi are followed strictly. On the other hand, several leaders from BJP, JDS, KJP and other parties are also tapping the Congress doors. Their inclusion will definitely bring down the hopes of the aspirants.

Party workers, who thought of enjoying power, are now dismayed by these developments. Meanwhile the decisions of the party high command to postpone the announcement of its candidate and to wait and watch the developments have further intensified the confusion among the party workers.

Condition of the ruling BJP seems to be pathetic. The party which came to power for the first time just seven years ago, now seems to be struggling to get a respectable number. Some blunders committed in the last four or five years have dented the party’s image and hurt the party workers. As a result the party received a serious setback in the recently concluded ULB polls.

Two splinter groups K J P lead by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa and BSR Congress lead by Swabhimani Sriramulu has clearly made dent in the vote base of the saffron brigade. Anti-incumbency factor is adding salt on the wound. Even after these setbacks, groupism and infighting among the top leaders of the party has not stopped yet.

Keeping these things in mind the party high command has appointed Prahlad Joshi a disciplined volunteer of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The party is also planning to project Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as its star campaigner to boast the morale of party workers and to improve its image.

However the party leaders are much worried to know who else will be ditching the party. As of now “wait and watch” is the key word for BJP as well. As a result even BJP workers are also under the cloud of confusion.

Janatha Dal Secular led by Gowda clan is in no better situation. Though its performance was not much spectacular in the ULB polls, the results have proved that the party has made a dent in North Karnataka region as well.

However, many of its leaders are not happy with the organizational set up. Resignation of Nagaraja Sehtty-vice president of the party and a senior leader from coastal area is an indication that everything is not right in the party.

Meanwhile the party leaders are eying for a repeat of its 2004 performance and become a king maker again. The party has opened its doors to the fence sitters to ensure more number of seats. Though the party had prepared a list of candidates, announcement has been put off and the party has adopted “wait and watch” policy pushing the party workers in the cloud of confusion.

For KJP- the new splinter group led by former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa- there is nothing to lose. The party has succeeded in its first step by defeating BJP in ULB polls.  The party has announced first list of 69 candidates.

However the party has also suffered a lot. Many of the leaders have already left the party and many are getting ready for it. The party is also being alleged as the “B” team of Congress. The party leaders deny the allegations. However, Yeddyurappa’s message to the voters to vote Congress wherever his party is not in fry during ULB polls and the statement of Dhanajaya Kumar about KJP-Congress government has dismayed the party workers.

On the other hand BSR Congress lead by Swabhimani Sriramulu is still struggling to prove to be an entity in the state politics. Its performance in the ULB polls has dismayed the leaders and the workers of the party.  Highly placed sources of the party say that party senior leaders are seriously considering the possibility of an alliance with BJP or JD(S). As a result the party workers are in confusion.

With all the major political parties are in confusion over their future – many leaders who have their own identity are strongly considering the option of facing the election as independents. Good number of independents winning in the ULB has promised them to do so.

Now let us go back to Mahabharata. Krishna teaches Arjuna of his duty and says he is duty bound to fight and have no right on the outcome. Likewise here in our own state not only the workers of various party but the voters are also in confusion. No one knows that who are pandava’s and who are Kaurava’s. However we the voters are duty bound to vote..! Only option left for us is just wait and watch..!!!