Mixed bag on campaign trail

National leaders rarely manage to create an impression through their fleeting visits during polls.

National leaders rarely manage to create an impression through their fleeting visits during polls. In the recent Karnataka assembly elections, the regions where four main national leaders8212;Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani8212;campaigned have thrown up mixed results.

Rahul Gandhi, for instance, traveled the length and breadth of Karnataka8212;first, as part of a pre-poll youth Congress tour and then, during the three phases of the election. Whether his visits had an impact or not, the districts initially toured by Rahul Gandhi, especially in south Karnataka, at the end of March, returned strong results for the Congress. But as you follow the leader8217;s trail further north, the results weakened. The party won all four seats in the district of Chamarajnagar, which has a sizable population of scheduled tribes and where Rahul Gandhi made his first stopover in March. In the neighbouring Mysore district, where Rahul Gandhi interacted with youths, the Congress won eight out of 11 seats. In coastal Mangalore, the Congress made a small comeback, winning five out of 13 seats compared to the three that it won during the previous polls.

But in three of the four northern districts where the Congress leader held small meetings and road shows, the Congress was stumped. In the BJP stronghold of Dharwad, the Congress managed to win just one of seven seats, but got none in Gadag and Bagalkot. In Raichur, the Congress managed an improved show over 2004, winning three of seven seats compared to the single seat it won in 2004. At Bangalore8217;s Byatarayanapura, where Rahul Gandhi held a public meeting, Congress8217;s Karnataka youth president Krishna Byregowda emerged victorious. However, the party itself won only 10 of 28 seats in Bangalore City.

While Rahul Gandhi did not campaign during the first phase of polls, none of the three constituencies he campaigned during the second phase returned favourable results for the party. In the third phase, only Bidar8212;one of three constituencies he campaigned8212;and Belgaum seven out of 18 seats brought some cheer to the Congress.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi too had similar returns from the six districts she toured. The K.R. Pura constituency in Bangalore, where Sonia Gandhi campaigned for the first phase, was considered a Congress stronghold, but three-time MLA and former minister A. Krishnappa lost the seat.

The BJP won easily in its strongholds of Puttur, Madikeri, Tumkur and Hubli. Though it8217;s tempting to attribute the win to Narendra Modi8217;s campaign, other areas he toured8212;Karkala, Byatarayanapura, parts of Bijapur and Bidar8212;did not return favourable results.

Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani campaigned extensively in Bangalore Urban and Rural constituencies, where the BJP did well. But in the southern districts of Mysore and Chamarajnagar, the BJP got only two out of 15 seats. In coastal Karnataka, where both Advani and Modi campaigned, the BJP was a clear winner but won only eight seats compared to the 11 it got in 2004.