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Why is Karnataka So Important for the Congress?

Senior Congress leaders fighting elections from the state is not a new concept.

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Politics
2 min read
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In an interesting development in the Karnataka politics, the state Congress chief Dinesh Gundu Rao has appealed to Rahul Gandhi to contest the general elections from there, saying that such a move by the Congress President will strengthen the party in the southern states.

Senior Congress leaders fighting elections from the state is not a new concept. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as well as UPA chief Sonia Gandhi have contested elections from the state before.

The fact that Sonia Gandhi contested elections from the state in 1999 has been mentioned by the state chief in the letter.

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Congress’ History in Karnataka

While UP’s Amethi and Rai Bareli have always been considered Congress bastions, history is proof that whenever a senior Congress leader has been fielded from Karnataka, he/she has always emerged victorious, irrespective of the political scenario.

After the Emergency in 1977, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi lost the Rai Bareli seat.

The following year, Indira Gandhi contested elections from Karnataka’s Chikmagalur and emerged victorious, making Karnataka one of Congress’ strongholds.

After Sonia Gandhi took charge as the Congress president, she, too, fought elections from Ballari in a neck-and-neck fight with Sushma Swaraj and won – inspiring the notion of Karnataka being lucky for the Congress.

The Congress’ equations with the regional parties in the south have always been good. In the 2018 Karnataka state elections, the Congress stitched an alliance with the JD(S) and formed the government despite the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being the single largest party in the state.

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

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Topics:  Congress   KARNATAKA 

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