The fate of the Congress’ last big bastion will be decided in a couple of months. However, a confident AICC president, Rahul Gandhi, during his visit to poll-bound Karnataka pitched for the return of the Congress in the Centre in the general election of 2019. And to this ambitious plan of his, Karnataka is crucial.
The job of winning the state back was left to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, while Gandhi focussed on pitching the ‘Karnataka model of governance’ as an alternative to Modi’s ‘Gujarat Model’.
This distinction of roles was clear in the speeches. While Rahul Gandhi trained his guns at New Delhi, Siddaramaiah appealed for another term, citing the good work his government has done.
The words of senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, during one of the rallies, summed up the Congress’ strategy well – “If we win in Karnataka, we will win in the Centre.”