JD squabbled, Cong won

The Congress victory in the Humnabad Assembly bypoll has given Chief Minister S.M. Krishna a reason to smile — at last. The ruling party, which wrested the seat from the BJP, has described the win as ‘‘people’s endorsement of the politics and programmes of the Krishna Government’’.

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A word of caution though: the result of one bypoll cannot be generalised as an endorsement of the performance of the powers that be. Remember that the Congress suffered defeat in the Kagwad and Kanakampura Lok Sabha bypolls, both of which were held by it.

What was significant was the manner in which the Congress was able to put its heart and soul in the campaign for the Humnabad seat. In contrast, the Opposition, particularly the Janata Parivar, was hopelessly divided. The Janata Dal-S and the Janata Dal-U pulled in opposite directions, thanks to the egoistic inhibitions of the Hegdes and Deve Gowdas. The latter’s JD-S, on the strength of the minority and backward class vote, came second, pushing the BJP to the third position.

The writing on the wall is clear for the Janata Parivar. Unless they unite before the next Assembly elections, they will suffer defeat and, in the process, will once again offer the state on a platter to the Congress.

For the BJP, it is the worst blow in the last three-and-half years. It has been wiped out from its strongholds — it lost the Mangalore municipal elections and other urban pockets — and has no presence at the grassroot level either. Unless the state party unit goes in for some serious introspection, it will be a surprise if the party can keep whatever remains of its flock together in the State Assembly polls.