In both BJP and Congress camps, aspirant MLAs are miffed that their claims for party nomination in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 is being ignored, perhaps in the interest of ‘winnability’.
Karnataka Elections 2018 : Factionalism may be a rather sophisticated word to describe it. What seems to have broken out in both Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress camps should be called full-blows wars. The reason: Aspirant members of legislative Assembly (MLAs) are miffed that their claims for party nomination in the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 is being ignored, perhaps in the interest of ‘winnability’.
While the first list of the Congress has not been released, factions are already raising their voices over various names – allegedly lists – floating around on WhatsApp and other groups. In fact, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had to take a satirical jibe – that the phenomenon of fake news had reached Indian elections as well – and deny that any of the names on the alleged lists circulating on social media were accurate.
The BJP, which has already released 72 names is facing its own battle: Ticket seekers who had hoped to find their names on the list are furious and alleging money and caste feelings had played a part in ticket distribution.
Both the outbursts testify to what is common to both parties in the fray – supporters of both think they are being robbed of their chances to being part of the government that will be formed in May. But there are structural reasons for factions emerging in both parties.
It is akin to a merger and acquisition in a company: why are they so often unsuccessful? Because the two companies coming together have different work cultures, different management styles, existing entrenched hierarchies that feel threatened, and different goals and visions. In the same way, political parties need to grow – sometimes by allowing unhappy factions and groups to cross over and join them. The problem arises when the new groups tend to threaten or displace the existing ones.
Take Siddaramiah. He joined the Congress from the JD(S) in the 1990s. In the JD(S) he stood for everything that the Congress opposed – a frank, even disrespectful manner, a caste appeal that the party was not used to, talk of backward class empowerment, and most of all, a horde of supporters and hangers on.
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