Now cooking in Karnataka: Khichdi politics

Karnataka's signature dish is called bisi bele bhath, a delectable khichdi made of rice, dal and vegetables. With the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha...

Karnataka’s signature dish is called bisi bele bhath, a delectable khichdi made of rice, dal and vegetables. With the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha dissolved this afternoon, heralding simultaneous Assembly and Lok Sabha polls, the electoral scene resembles a similar concoction. Given that it is the only southern state where remnants of the Janata parivar still survive, can khichdi politics be far behind?

Electioneering has yet to begin in earnest, but a look at the configuration of the just-dissolved Assembly gives an idea of what lies ahead. In 1999, the Congress swept the polls, winning 18 of the 28 Lok Sabha seats and 132 of the 224 Assembly constituencies. The BJP, which contested in alliance with the Janata Dal (U), won seven LS and 44 Assembly seats. The JD(U) won three LS and 18 Assembly seats, and the Deve Gowda’s JD(S) won 10 Assembly seats.

Since 1999, that composition has changed considerably. The fortunes of the ruling Congress improved in this period. Today, when the State Assembly was dissolved, the Congress tally stood at 159 — a gain of 27 MLAs. And they came from all over. First, a BJP MLA lost an election petition and in the ensuing bypoll, the Congress won that seat raising its tally to 133 and bringing down the BJP’s to 43. Then, six JD(S) legislators crossed over to the Congress. That was followed by the entry of nine BJP members (whom the BJP claims to have expelled because they cross-voted and helped Vijay Mallya enter the Rajya Sabha). And the crowning glory came a week ago when 11 members of the late Ramakrishna Hegde’s AIPJD — the new avtar of the old JD(U) — crossed over to the Congress.

The state does not follow any neat bipolar pattern as in the rest of the South. While the Congress is out to battle the anti-incumbency factor, both BJP and JD(S) claim to be the real bele (dal) to the Congress bhath (rice). And the spice is being provided by the likes of Mallya (whose Janata Party is ‘‘in talks’’ with the dregs of the AIPJD and might have an alliance with the BJP) and transport baron Vijay Sankeshwar (an ex-BJP MP who has floated Kannada Nadu and talks of sweeping the polls on the basis of the yet invisible plank of Kannadiga pride). The spicy khichdi of Karnataka may not have the complex flavours of a Lucknavi biryani, but it promises to be anything but bland.