- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The defeat of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, in the just held election in the southern state of Karnataka might not be a surprise for psephologists and political experts since no ruling party in the state has been able to beat the anti-incumbency mood since 1985.
The BJP, which had been ruling since 2019 after the Janata Dal (Secular)-Indian National Congress alliance government collapsed, was fighting a number of challenges this time. There were accusations of corruption while the absence of former chief minister BS Yediyurappa in the electoral battle this year hurt the saffron party’s chances. Yet, prime minister Modi himself put up a vigorous effort to do it for his party, as did the leaders and workers. But in the end, it did not deliver for the BJP and the Congress received a major boost ahead of next year’s general elections.
The BJP had its problems in this election and that was visible at the time of picking candidates as well. But for Modi as a national leader, the repercussions could be beyond the state’s politics.
Given the fact that Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, is also considered the information technology capital of India and Modi is a one who constantly promotes his image as a modern leader who trusts technology and innovation as motors to propel the nation forward and not as a polarising figure — a charge that his opponents often bring against him, this one-sided loss would mean that ‘Brand Modi’ has been de-hyphenated from information technology and the world of technological advances, at least symbolically.
For Modi’s closest aides and supporters, that is not good news. It was not surprising to see Modi conducting a major road show in Bengaluru towards the end of the campaign and a good response made both the prime minister and the party hopeful before the disaster of May 13.
In a short while, I will be commencing the roadshow across parts of Bengaluru to interact with people of the city. The bond between Bengaluru and BJP is an old and strong one. This city has supported our party since the early days and we have made numerous efforts for its growth.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 6, 2023
Avinash Gorakshkar, Head of Research at Profitmart Securities, told LiveMint, “Now big investors like FII, FPIs and mutual funds would like to know how this Karnataka assembly election results have impacted brand Modi because from tactical perspective, Karnataka is an important state for the party to establish itself in southern India.”
Ravi Singhal, CEO at GCVL Broking told the news outlet, “The Karnataka elections results are not a surprise and stock market has already discounted assuming BJP’s loss in the state assembly polls. However, loss margins would be an important factor and market would bee keenly watching on it. So, in case of respectful defeat for the BJP where they settle at around 75 seats, which looks possible from latest trends, I don’t expect much correction ion Monday and Nifty might be able to safeguard its current 18,150 support levels.”
Modi and his party would also feel disappointed to have lost their only bastion in south India as that would mean the saffron party is not in power in any of the five big states of the region, which is also the country’s economic powerhouse. Elections are due in Karnataka’s neighbouring Telangana later this year and after this show, the BJP would have to work harder to make a difference there.
The prime minister had not tweeted at the time of writing this piece (he tweeted at 5.19 pm IST congratulating the Congress over its victory).
Is he too upset knowing these realities?
