By M.K. Ashoka

Bengaluru, May 6 (IANS): The Karnataka elections are considered as semi-finals for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The national parties, BJP and Congress are trying to send a message to the nation with these results. Karnataka state is the only link for both the parties to south India.

After Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, Congress wants to win Karnataka and make it a launchpad to set the tone for the Lok Sabha elections. It also wants to galvanise the cadres and party workers. Though the state Congress leadership is formidable, Rahul Gandhi has put in his efforts and tried to send a message to the nation.

For the BJP, it is all about proving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's wave in the country by beating the anti-incumbency factor. The Karnataka elections have become all about PM Modi now. Union Minister for Home Amit Shah, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP National President J.P. Nadda, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai himself are seeking votes in the name of PM Modi.

On top of it, PM Modi himself is seeking votes for himself through personal appeals. The victory will be considered as PM Modi's victory and defeat will also be attributed to him.

The third front is hoping to make a comeback at the national stage through the success of JD(S) in Karnataka. Former PM H.D. Deve Gowda headed JD(S) is brimming with confidence on its chances of emerging victorious in the elections. Experts maintain that there is a conducive atmosphere in the state for it to become a kingmaker.

The party leadership is claiming that after the rebellion episodes in both Congress and BJP and emotional issues involving 89-year-old Deve Gowda, the party is standing better chances rather than being just a kingmaker.

Deve Gowda is touring the state and going to the people on a wheelchair, delivering speeches and making appeals to make his son the CM. He is still the unquestionable leader of Vokkaliga community, which decides the fate of political parties in south Karnataka region which has more than 80 seats, including Bengaluru.

Rahul Gandhi and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge are maintaining that Karnataka elections are not just elections to elect the government to the state but they are of national importance.

PM Modi is claiming that the election results will decide the fate of Karnataka state. He says the victory in Karnataka is crucial for making his dream of taking the Indian economy to the third place from the fifth place.

Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao visited Bengaluru to meet Deve Gowda and family on multiple occasions. Deve Gowda's son, former CM H.D. Kumaraswamy has met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata and held talks on the third front.

Senior political analyst C. Rudrappa, talking to IANS explained, BJP has left its horse for Ashwamedha Yaga (ritual used by ancient Indian kings to prove their imperial sovereignty. A horse accompanied by the king's warriors would be released to wander for a year. Whoever tames the horse would be fought by them) in Karnataka.

"Their aim is to stop Congress in Karnataka and register victory on the lines of Uttar Pradesh. BJP, which is on a winning spree except for a few occasions, wants to consolidate its position. If BJP fails to make it in Karnataka it indicates an end of euphoria and a taken for granted attitude of BJP," he explained.

"BJP does not fit in with the people and states which have distinct cultures and don't get carried away by proposed nationalism by BJP such as Odisha, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh. They won't come into BJP's format. The setback in Karnataka either for the Congress or BJP will give indications for the national level," he said.