Mangalore: What Led to Congress Debacle and BJP Resurgence in MCC Polls?

By Melka Miyar and Nina Rai
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore

Mangalore, Sep 30 (8-00 pm IST):  As the latest reports kept trickling in, it was quite obvious that the Bharatiya Janata Party was romping home towards a clear-cut victory in the Mangalore City Corporation and Town Panchayat elections.

If one were to analyze the reasons for the debacle of Congress, several important factors may be highlighted, which could have escaped the Congress think-tank and election strategists. 

One glaring aspect that stands out in this scenario is the internal bickering and conflicts within the Congress party, with several elements being disgruntled at being denied the party tickets who then turned rebels. These rebels seemed to have eroded the Congress voter base and damaged the party's chances considerably.

Moreover, there seems to have been a division of secular votes between the Congress and CPI (M) which in the process seem to have benefited BJP indirectly.

Other pertinent issue is the bad state of roads ridden with pot-holes and the constant grouse of the public over the issue of non-maintenance of roads and the hardships undergone by the common man while travelling in buses or other vehicles.

The issue of corruption seems to be one another factor bothering the general public a lot, in view of the rising cost of living. This factor in no small measure played an crucial role in the Congress losing precious votes and goodwill.

Moreover, within the Congress party itself, there has been neglect of the party workers at the grassroot level, particularly the hard-working cadres by senior party leaders. They have been sidelined and denied party tickets, which again went against the party.

On the other side, the opposition party seems to have done some good work. For instance, BJP MLA Krishna Palemar of Suratkal won the hearts of the residents with his efforts in maintaining peace in his constituency, which has a total of 27 wards under it. Moreover, the residents there also cannot forget the good work done by Palemar when they all faced severe water crisis last year. 

Last but not the least, the pro-BJP wave more then a year back seems to have worked in BJP’s favour this time too. Congress won the Ullal by-election a few months ago. This infused confidence in the Congress party and even political analysts opined at that point of time that the trend was in Congress party’s favour. But the reality was much different. The BJP wave continued and finally culminated in giving the much-needed boost to the BJP party’s fortunes in this election.  

The result of all the above factors are there for all to see, and this will definitely give a prop to the BJP party which seems to had been relegated to the sidelines since its national debacle in 2004.