Congress’s Karnataka strategy: In power, but still in street protest mode

Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, KPCC President B.K. Hariprasad and other Congress leaders stage a protest against SIR in Karnataka and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Freedom Park in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

Since returning to power in Karnataka in May 2023, the Congress has increasingly taken to the streets, staging protests on a range of issues, many directed against the Centre or its agencies. The strategy appears aimed at keeping its political base mobilised while projecting itself as a party willing to challenge what it describes as injustice to the State.

Protests, however, are not new to the Congress in power. The party has taken to streets over developments perceived to be against Karnataka’s interests, particularly the Cauvery river water dispute and language and border issues. During the tenures of S. Bangarappa in 1991 and S.M. Krishna (1999-2004), the Congress organised protests and padayatras against what it termed injustice to Karnataka in the sharing of Cauvery river water.

Shifted orientation

What has changed today is the range of issues and the frequency of such agitations. With the Left parties losing much of their electoral influence over the past decade, the Congress has increasingly occupied the space of political mobilisation on economic and social issues while taking on the BJP-led NDA government and central agencies. Under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, the party appears to have adopted a more pronounced left-of-center position on several issues.