An issue of great concern for the Congress in the Assembly elections in Karnataka was how the campaigning by national leaders on either side of the divide would impact the scenario and whether the end result could be a deviation from the local issues that the party had diligently stuck to in the months leading up to the polls.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi's campaign in Karnataka picking up pace, it has become a struggle for the Congress to react to him and yet ensure that the electioneering does not turn into a war of words over Modi.
This was evident when former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, in his public rally in Turuvekere on Monday, said Modi needs to understand that the elections in Karnataka are not about him.
“You (Modi) come to campaign in Karnataka for elections, but don't speak about Karnataka. You speak about yourself. You have to say what you did in Karnataka for the past three years. You also have to speak in your speeches about what you will be doing in the next five years, what you will do for youth, education, health and to fight corruption,” he said.
Interestingly, with Rahul's disqualification as Lok Sabha MP, following his conviction in a defamation case, happened just as the campaigning in Karnataka was to pick up, there was concern in the party over whether the issue, of national significance, could end up overshadowing local issues when the leader campaigns in the state.
However, according to a Karnataka Congress leader, there was no doubt within the party that the disqualification issue related more to national politics, and when Rahul would speak in the state, he would place his focus on issues such as price rise, unemployment, the perceived corruption of the BJP government and lack of development.
Rahul's retort was to Modi having talked about the Congress hurling “various types of abuses” at him.
It is though felt that the war of words over Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge allegedly calling Modi a “venomous snake” could have made it that much more difficult for the party to ensure that the election does not turn into a scenario where the focus is on Modi and on national issues rather than the local leadership of the BJP and the perceived failures of the state government.
According to a senior state Congress leader, the headlines in the media coverage might have got momentarily affected, but the issues on the ground remain the same. “We are running a positive campaign. We have attacked the state government but we have also conveyed to the people what we will do to alleviate their suffering. We have given concrete guarantees which we will implement as soon as we will come to power,” the leader said.