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K’taka Congress reviews its performance in LS elections
Shivakumar said there was a need for introspection and corrective measures, urging party members to refrain from public criticism and media commentary about the election outcome
The Karnataka Congress on Monday held a party meeting to review its performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections, which state unit chief and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has described as a “warning bell” for the party, according to people familiar with the matter.
Talking to the media on Monday, Shivakumar said there was a need for introspection and corrective measures, urging party members to refrain from public criticism and media commentary about the election outcome.
“We need to examine things and review where we have gone wrong, what has happened,” Shivakumar told reporters, highlighting the party’s commitment to understanding the reasons behind its underperformance.
Despite the Congress’s optimistic projections and reliance on its government’s guarantee schemes, the party secured only nine out of 28 seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA clinched 19 seats. The BJP won 17 seats and JD(S) two.
“People have given us a warning bell. We need to be careful in the future,” Shivakumar acknowledged, noting that the party anticipated winning 14-15 seats but ultimately fell short.
He pointed out that the party did not secure votes even in the home constituencies of several of its leaders. “We are verifying why it happened. There may be several individual causes, but defeat is a defeat. We have to accept that votes for us have gone down. People have given their verdict, we can’t give lame excuses. We have to set it right,” he said.
Amid the party’s internal review, the Congress leaders have expressed dissatisfaction with the performance and the effectiveness of the guarantee schemes. Congress MLA JT Patil from Bagalkote publicly called on chief minister Siddaramaiah to reassess these guarantees, questioning their impact on development and voter support. “At many places, guarantees haven’t worked so we will appeal to the CM to rethink about the guarantees,” he said.
Congress MLA Balakrishna acknowledged the need for a strategic reassessment post-election. “We have realised that it hasn’t worked and our opponents too have been saying that the guarantees haven’t really helped us,” he said, leaving the final decision to the party leadership. The Congress’s guarantees, which were a major part of its campaign, included the Shakti Scheme for free transport to women and students, the Anna Bhagya Scheme providing food grains, the Gruha Jyothi Scheme offering free power and the Gruha Lakshmi Scheme providing financial aid to women heads of families.
Despite some internal opposition, a Congress spokesperson affirmed that any decision regarding the schemes would be made by the cabinet. “But the CM has made it clear that the guarantee schemes, which was a promise we made before the assembly election, will continue,” the spokesperson stated.
A delegation of Bengaluru Congress MLAs led by Shivakumar met CM Siddaramaiah and discussed various issues. “Ministers Ramalingareddy, KJ George, Jameer Ahmed Khan, MLAs Harris, UB Venkatesh, Rizwan Arshad, Krishnappa, UB Venkatesh, Sudam Das, Nagaraj Yadav, Rajya Sabha Members GC Chandrasekhar, Rajeev Gowda, chief minister’s Political Secretary Naseer Ahmed, Govindaraju and many others were present,” read a statement from the CM’s office.
