How Congress won Karnataka polls? Kiran Mazumdar Shaw gives three factors

After the Congress romped back to power in Karnataka assembly elections with the biggest vote share in 34 years, Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw took to Twitter to share her thoughts on the historic victory.

The billionaire CEO of the Bengaluru-headquartered pharmaceutical company, is quite vocal on social media about civic issues shared by citizens. On Saturday, she listed three major factors that may have tipped the balance in favour of the opposition Congress in the high stakes battle ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Development in infrastructure, a prosperous economy and social harmony are the benchmarks that people check while casting their ballots, she opined.

She wrote, "Just woke up to the news in Los Angeles that @INCIndia got a resounding mandate from the people of Karnataka". She added, "Infrastructure development, economic prosperity, and social harmony are the metrics that people will measure to elect its representatives.”

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According to political experts, the X factors that brought Congress its victorious verdict could be its strong backing for social welfare promises as well as spirited anti-corruption campaigns. Rahul Gandhi on Saturday announced that the party would implement its five primary manifesto promises, which laid emphasis on social justice, in the first cabinet meeting. These include schemes such as Gruha Jyoti, Gruha Lakshmi, Yuva Nidhi, Shakti, and Anna Bhagya, Gandhi asserted that the Congress had won the poll campaign with the message of love and shunning hatred. He continued, “In the Karnataka polls, on one side was crony capitalism, and on the other the commitment of the workers.”

The Congress’s seat tally increased by 56 in 2018 to 136 in 2023, the highest in Karnataka since the 1989 elections. The BJP saw a drop of 40 seats while the Janata Dal (Secular) lost 17 seats compared to 2018 numbers.