Despite claims of BJP-JD(S) alliance winning all 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, historical data shows Congress achieved this feat only once in 1971.
➤ Several times over the past few weeks, functionaries of the BJP-JD(S) alliance have emphatically claimed it would bag all 28 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka this election. But electoral data since 1951 shows a party has managed to win all seats in the state only once — Congress in 1971.
➤ Even in that election, Congress under Indira Gandhi had faced stiff opposition from the syndicate led by the likes of K Kamaraj from Tamil Nadu and S Nijalingappa in Karnataka. In fact, the decision to oppose Indira from within was taken at a meeting in Lalbagh, Bangalore in 1969. While Indira with the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’ managed to win across India, she was accused of election malpractice a few years later.
➤ That Karnataka, unlike its neighbours Andhra and Tamil Nadu, has failed in building a strong regional party (or parties) that could have made an impact nationally is no secret. But the reason no national party — Congress, Janata Party, or even BJP — has managed to sweep elections is also because the state has seen consistent efforts by functionaries to build either regional parties or alternatives to national parties.