Hindi Heartland and Polls in Karnataka by Puneet Rajhans

Hindi Heartland and Polls in Karnataka

Post poll upheaval and swift change of guard in Andhra and yet no change in Karnataka, the big politicos went to sleep burdened with the possibilities that lay ahead. Post conversation with the media bunch in the vicinity of Janpath, which was longest to date, the Big G wanted to set the record straight by suggesting that she wanted to secure a record number of resignations in her record tenure as Congress Chief. Besides change of guard in Maharashtra and Andhra, she has suggested change of guard in Tamil Nadu and if possible Karnataka before this term comes to an end.

The Hindi Heartland, both mother and son having lost hope for the time being, the start-from-scratch is all they could hope to build their base from. With the twin posts on start-from-scratch and a full blown assault on corruption minus JPC, the Cong Chief went to sleep with the belief that though the Hindi Heartland hadn't effected change, the Southern States would do the same in keeping with the mantra of change she had set for her party and government.

As for Chief MInister Nitish Kumar, he went to sleep with the huge agenda that awaited his government - and the peaceful press conference followed by more than peaceful swearing in indicated he needn't skip sleep for the time being.

The press conference of Lalu and Lalu-befriended-Paswan saw release of air and heat. The mysterious results of Bihar polls need to be probed and so was the need to probe why they threw up such expected results. THe mystery over the party getting into double digit was the sharpest mystery to date with the ARJD (Antarrashtriya Janata Dal)expecting the tally to hover somewhere between 4 and 9; perhaps not opening the account would have lent credence to their argument that they too need to start from scratch.
The press conference over and the marching orders received for the accommodation to be vacated, the fodder frontrunner was making all efforts to skip the sleep for the consequences it stored for him. Every time he went to sleep, the Rabri factor continued to haunt him. She used to berate and batter him for the decline she had been subjected to. Reminding him that she began her innings as her better half, thrown into the cesspool of politics again by her better half.

The transformation to a Chief Minister without member of either Bihar House to CM with membership to one House was dramatic. So was dramatic the transformation from CM's chair to Opposition leader when the party was truly but not effectively routed in 2005. The Opposition stint was comforting for her as for a better part it aligned with the man holding-and-reducing the railway portfolio. The railway portfolio snatched away, the possibility of her being robbed of Opposition portfolio was truly there as ARJD had sensed a strong chance of staging a true comeback. Though her party crossed single digit roadblock, she lost the polls from whichever seats she contested and thereby losing the Opposition crown. With no constitutional post coming her way, she has exhausted all options of retaining her accommodation as well.

THe rout she could barely envisage and the complete decimation from all possible public arenas she could hardly foresee has led to a chorus of agitation for her inability to attend to household chores which she avoided all these years. She blames Lalu for her spate of reverses. Not entirely stopping at that her ire is directed at her wisdom to enter a household where the fall has been dramatic and deadly. THe most dreadful part of her taunt to Lalu has been her opening line of communication with Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yeddyurapa on her immediate need to hold a constitutional post. In the ensuing zaluka/taluka polls in Karnataka she truly sees her chance to stage a comeback. This assault on his ideology he isn't prepared to take in his stride resulting in his skipping sleep for over a week now which truly has a chance of carrying beyond a month.