BJP has plenty of cheer ahead of celebrations to mark the first anniversary of the Basavaraj Bommai government since Congress, the principal opposition, is grappling with an internal rift instead of attacking the government on its shortcomings.
The public glare is now on the tussle over the chief ministerial candidate in Congress rather than issues such as graft, price rise, and slow administration. BJP is gearing up for ‘Sadhahana Samavesha’, a mega event to be held in Doddaballapur on June 28, the first anniversary of the Bommai government and the third for BJP at the helm. Such occasions offer the opposition a platform to highlight failures of the government and an opportunity to attack it on peoplerelated issues.
However, the situation is a little different this time. Congress seems to be immersed in its own problems, letting the government off the hook. Its response to the ‘Sadhahana Samavesha’ was limited to a joint press conference on Tuesday where leader of the opposition Siddaramaiah, KPCC president DK Shivakumar and leader of opposition in the legislative council, BK Hariprasad tried to put up a united front.
The public spat between legislator Zameer Ahmed Khan, who is batting for Siddaramaiah as the CM candidate, and Shivakumar, who appealed to his Vokkaliga community to support him, has shifted public focus and provided BJP with ammunition to ridicule its main opposition. “Congress is in a pathetic condition,” said Nirmal Kumar Surana, BJP state vice-president.
