Current national news froze in the wake of the Karnataka elections-results of which are believed to have a huge impact on the 2019 general elections, especially with competing parties having their own vested interest in the southern seats.
Despite being a small state with only a total of 28 Lok Sabha seats, not to mention its political volatility, Karnataka remains a critical peg in the country's political machine. It will be history in the making if Siddaramaiah manage to win the state back for the Congress, as no party has ever been re-elected in Karnataka since 1985-a scenario that is not far from becoming reality, being that Siddaramaiah has been the first CM to complete a full term in the recent past (after 2004).
Should the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) take the win, it will be the party's first major victory in any prime southern state, under the Modi-Shah leadership. Apart from partisan motivations, below are even more reasons why the Karnataka elections are such huge current national news events everyone's eyes should be on:
- It's a testing of waters for the BJP after failing to improve their performance in 2016 Tamil Nadu and Kerala assembly elections.
Having lost an important southern ally when the TDP (Telugu Desam Party) withdrew from the NDA (National Democratic Alliance), BJP all the more needs to win if they have a chance surmounting current challenges the party is having in terms of disagreements over certain important issues such as the imposition of Hindi along with other pressing matters like the terms of reference for the 15th finance commission. Losing the Karnataka elections could mean greater constraints for meu the party's political strategy.
- A victory for the BJP would also mean more favourable Rajya Sabha numbers (putting the party several seats closer towards majority rule), especially with only one of 4 retiring members of the Rajya Sabha from the BJP, come 2020.
- Another reason why the Karnataka elections has such a huge impact on current national news is the fact that the results of this election could likewise have significant impact on Congressional party finances.
Losing to the BJP could adversely impact the Congress party's capacity to raise funds, having no elected government in any major state except for Punjab. This will put the Congress at a huge disadvantage in matching the BJP's campaign efforts come the general elections in 2019.