‘We don’t see a Modi wave. I see the wave only on TV, social media’: Dinesh Gundu Rao

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Mar 28, 2019 : With the Congress fighting the 2019 Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka in alliance with the JD(S) of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda, state party president Dinesh Gundu Rao, 49, has spent countless hours firefighting. In an interview, he speaks about the functioning of the alliance and its prospects:

 

Given the number of Congress dissidents in fray in seats given to the JD(S), do you think the coalition is pulling together for the Lok Sabha polls?

Definitely. Most of the issues have been sorted and on March 31 we will have a joint rally in Bengaluru. Rahulji, Deve Gowdaji and all other leaders will be attending. Once the nominations are completed and the withdrawals done, all the issues will be sorted. Follow more election news here.

What are the key issues on the ground this time?

One key issue is that nothing that the Modi government has done is improving people’s lives. He has not improved India’s economy, businesses have not improved, cost of farm production has gone up, demonetisation and the bad implementation of GST have affected lives… They are trying to use nationalism as the selling point now… to pert people’s minds with the help of the media, which is no longer critical… Modi’s lies, false propaganda and the failure of his promises are going to be key issues.

In the 2018 state elections, the Congress was not able to consolidate its core support base of backward castes, Scheduled Castes and minorities. What still gives you confidence?

Actually the Congress vote share increased by 1.5 per cent in the state elections. We should have increased it by another 3 per cent because we implemented some good programmes. We provided a stable government and there were no scandals. Yes, in some perceptions, we lost out. On the Veerashaiva Lingayat issue (the Congress recommended a separate religion status for the dominant Lingayat community) and the Hindutva issue which was played up in the coastal belt - especially the death of a youth, Paresh Mesta, that nobody till now knows how it happened - the Tipu Jayanti issue, issues which did not directly concern people, were used to pide them… Sometimes people do get carried away by emotional issues.

Some strategies also went wrong for us, especially in the last month.

The Lingayat base of the BJP has remained intact since the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Do you see this changing anytime soon?

The Lingayat base of the BJP is eroding. The Congress is not perceived as anti-Lingayat. Six of the 21 Congress candidates are Lingayats this time… To some extent the Lingayat community has felt it must stick by (BJP leader B S) Yeddyurappa. Today Yeddyurappa himself is sidelined. The Lingayat community is beginning to recognise that the Congress is a party which accommodates everybody. We have Lingayat candidates with good potential in Belagavi, Chikkodi, Bagalkot, Bidar, Davangere and Haveri. I think there will be a split in the Lingayat vote and the Congress will benefit a lot from it.

The Congress is seen as promoting dynastic politics, a perception strengthened by the JD(S) fielding Deve Gowda’s grandsons.

What our coalition partner does with its seats is not our concern. They have chosen candidates based on their strength. As far as I can see, they are all going to win. Some of them are young and interested in politics. As long as they have the right intentions, it should not really matter.

The BJP decision to field a youth from its party ranks in the Bengaluru South seat instead of the widow of senior leader Ananth Kumar seems to be designed to avoid precisely this dynastic tag….

I don’t think so. The BJP has given tickets to so many family members of its leaders. There is Yeddyurappa and his son, there is Umesh Katti and his brother, there is C M Udasi and his son… There are many examples… The denial of a ticket to Ananth Kumar’s wife is for political purposes. She is a tall leader. She was a candidate with great potential and she was a very active social worker. To insult her like this reflects very badly on the central leadership… To be told at the eleventh hour is an insult to Mr Ananth Kumar himself.

The JD(S) had sought the Mysuru seat but the Congress and Siddaramaiah, who has stakes in the constituency, opposed this strongly. Is this an irritant for the coalition?

That is all over and done with. We are going ahead with the 21:7 formula. It is fair enough.

What is your expectation for the Congress from the Lok Sabha elections?

The atmosphere is changing and there is an undercurrent building up against Modi. They have been relying on false propaganda and were trying to use the Pulwama incident to create hyper-nationalism. People are now starting to think what has he actually done. There is also anti-incumbency against their MPs… We don’t see a Modi wave either. I see the wave only on television and social media.

In recent years, the Dalit votes too seem to be split, with the most backward votes going to the BJP.

These things are getting diluted. They are also realising how Congress programmes have helped them. We have reserved 24 per cent of the state budget, Rs 30,000 crore, for the SC/ST community.

How many seats do you think the Congress-JD(S) will win?

Twenty plus out of the 28 seats. A minimum of 20.


How about the coastal belt, where the BJP has a strong hold?

We are in a position to win the Mangalore seat. Youths were swayed by communal feelings but all the data and strategies are coming out and they are realising how they were swayed. We have fielded a grassroots boy (Mithun Rai, former Youth Congress leader) and he is a dynamic person who will gather a lot of support.

Will the rancour over seat-sharing with the JD(S) affect the coalition government after the polls?

There is going to be a new government at the Centre after the elections. All this politics of revenge, harassment will go. In the last eight months, there has been a constant effort by the BJP to destabilise this government… When this destructive force goes, the state government will also stabilise.