The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka is looking to adopt a similar strategy to the one used in Gujarat by replacing under-performing or non-performing sitting MLAs with young and fresh faces. This move is aimed at reducing anti-incumbency sentiments against the ruling government in Karnataka which seem to be very high. As a result, the first list of candidates released by the party includes a significant number of new faces.
The BJP's approach in Gujarat has been successful in keeping them in power since 1995, and the party is hoping to replicate this success in Karnataka. To this end, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reportedly instructed party leaders not to give tickets to candidates above the age of 75 or those facing corruption charges. Interestingly, Modi also made it clear that the party should avoid a dynastic system and not give tickets to sons of retiring fathers.
As a result, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar and former Deputy Chief Minister Eshwarappa's sons did not receive tickets. This decision has led to Shettar raising objections, and more senior members of the party may follow suit. In the first list of 189 candidates, 56 of them are new faces, indicating the party's determination to refresh its lineup and gain an advantage in the upcoming elections.
But the big question is whether the Karnataka electorate will fall in the same trap like how Gujarathi's did. The same formula of Modi's home turf is not easy to be replicated in the South since the pulse of South voters is very different and only the outcome of Karnataka polls can decide whether Modi's strategy has worked out or not.
