BJP poised for power

KARNATAKA POLL WIN VINDICATES MODI AHEAD OF 2019 ELECTIONS

INDIA’S prime minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party was set on Tuesday (15) to win the largest number of seats in a big southern state poll, giv­ing him momentum for a re-election bid next year and opening the path for more reforms.

A government in Karnataka led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will help Modi silence critics who said his popularity had waned after the rocky adop­tion of a nationwide sales tax and a ban on high-value bank notes late in 2016.

The BJP was leading in 105 seats in Karnataka’s 225-member state assembly, the Election Commis­sion of India said, with the opposition Congress party leading in 75, as Eastern Eye went to press.

A party needs 113 seats to form a government and the BJP will probably have to seek the backing of smaller parties.

The Congress, meanwhile, said it was ready to support a regional party that was in third place to form a government to stop the BJP from taking power. Congress was planning to strike an alliance with the regional Janata Dal (Secular), which fin­ished third with 37 seats.

“That’s the best way to keep the BJP out of power,” incumbent Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah told reporters in Bangalore.

A Congress-Janata Dal alliance would have a ma­jority in the 224-member assembly.

The BJP accused Congress of betraying voters to salvage its “pathetic defeat” and claimed it could still form the government.

“Congress, despite having been rejected by the people, is trying to gain a backdoor entry,” BS Yed­dyurappa, the BJP’s candidate for state chief minis­ter, said.

“BJP has emerged as the single largest party. We have requested the governor to give us an opportu­nity to prove our majority on the floor of the assem­bly,” he said, without revealing details.

A record 70 per cent of the nearly 50 million vot­ers turned out in last Saturday’s (12) election.

Analysts said the state governor would likely ask the BJP to make a bid for power because it would emerge as the biggest party in the new house.

If it forms a government in Karnataka, the BJP and its allies would govern 22 of India’s 29 states.

A strong showing in the state, which has a popu­lation roughly equal to that of France, would allow Modi to aggressively push forward his reform agen­da without fear of political backlash.

It also gives the BJP a southern beachhead, be­sides its core base in India’s north and west.

Modi’s election victory in Karnataka, where he led his party’s campaign, showed that he remains the top vote-getter in Indian politics, leaving the young leader of the main opposition Congress par­ty, Rahul Gandhi, struggling.

“The win definitely enhances the prospect of prime minister Modi for another term,” said politi­cal commentator N Ram.

The benchmark stock NSE index gained more than one per cent and 10-year government bond yields were steady at 7.86 per cent despite surprise inflation results earlier in the day. (Reuters, AFP)