Gearing up for Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023

Elections to the 224-member Karnataka Assembly are set to be held in May this year. With the national elections scheduled for next year, all national and regional parties are gearing up for the battle, making the results of all the Assembly polls scheduled to be held this year even more important. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wrested power away from the Indian National Congress (INC) and Janata Del (Secular) (JD(S)) combine during the 2019 political crisis in the state, despite the latter securing more seats in the 2018 polls. Given that no incumbent party has been able to continue ruling the state in the past two decades, the BJP is fighting tooth and nail to fight anti-incumbency to retain its power. The INC at the same time is formulating a campaign to ride the anti-incumbency wave against the BJP by highlighting issues such as corruption, unemployment, and water disputes. However, the BJP’s election machinery has successfully overridden anti-incumbency in both Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat in the past few months, restoring power in both states with massive mandates. Let us have a look at the major parties in fray in the state, the promises they are making to the voters, and their political track records.