BJP faces inflation heat ahead of local body polls in Karnataka

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Bengaluru | Chennai: The price surge in items of daily use, reflected in the recent inflation numbers, may worry the ruling BJP in Karnataka, which is headed for local body polls before the assembly election in a year, but Tamil Nadu and Kerala have proved that pain mitigation is possible through robust public distribution systems (PDS) and targeted benefits like free bus rides for women.

While inflation numbers for Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are on the higher side, they trended lower in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

The DMK does not have any elections to deal with in the near future, but Telangana is slated to go to the polls in December next year, following elections in Karnataka. All major regional parties in southern India, including the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, the DMK in Tamil Nadu, TRS in Telangana and JDS in Karnataka, have been attacking the Union government for the price rise, particularly in energy products.

The ruling BJP in Karnataka faces an immediate threat as elections are due in Bengaluru for its civic body, and for panchayat bodies across the state. The party is trying hard to wriggle out of the legal mess that has arisen after the Supreme Court recently ruled that the state election authorities must conduct urban and rural local body polls on expiry of their terms.

Rising prices, coupled with unsteady incomes after livelihood losses through the Covid-19 pandemic, have fanned discontent among the working classes. Opposition parties have now begun to leverage the economic stress to set the political narrative.

“They are left with very little money in their hands as their earnings have not increased in the past three-four years. The ruling BJP is well aware of this, and to cover up their failures on issues affecting lives of people, they are diverting their attention by stoking communal issues and fanning religious hatred,” said Congress MLA Krishna Byre Gowda, who represented Karnataka in the GST Council before. “A lot depends on how well we in the Congress will explain this to people during the upcoming polls and counter the BJP’s campaign.”

Sections of BJP leaders are also worried as urban inflation in Karnataka is close to 7%. The party has consistently built its base in urban pockets, and it would not want inflation chipping away at its vote-bank.

Samir Kagalkar, convenor of Karnataka’s BJP Economic Cell, however, said people can differentiate between inflation caused by governance failure as during the UPA regime and the one caused by a set of entirely external factors like Ukraine war, and the supply chain disruption and lockdowns caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. “Prime Minister Narendra Modi has managed the economy very well under the challenging circumstances, and voters are well aware of this,” he said.

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