Why smiling is an effort for state leaders

The electorate has spoken – emphatically – and none of Karnataka’s political bosses have a reason to be truly joyous.
That sadness first engulfed former prime minister H D Deve Gowda. Even while his lead was around 2 lakh votes over K H Hanume Gowda of the BJP, the stalwart started feeling uneasy. When the results were announced, Gowda had defeated Gowda – of the BJP – by the highest margin in the state – 2.91 lakh votes. With the victory, he also got high blood pressure and was advised rest. There are many theories as to why Deve Gowda decided not to face the media eve after a convincing victory in Hassan and improving his party’s score in the state – the JD(S) tally went up to 3 from 2 in 2004. The most convincing theory is this: after the UPA received a healthy mandate, Gowda and Son lost all relevance at the Centre. “I-sweat-in-a-Mercedes” Kumaraswamy may still be eyeing a Cabinet berth but is Sonia Gandhi still scouting for him? No way.
And then there is Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President R V Deshpande. His party may be forming the government at the Centre, but he is the only man who has let Madam Gandhi down in south India. In Andhra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Congress gained an upper hand. What makes the Congress victory even more significant is the way Kerala and Tamil Nadu vote and throw out the incumbent. But this time, Congress – and its allies – bucked the trend.
RVD puts the blame of his defeat squarely at the door of poor organizational structure and delay in selection of candidates. He has also been saying that lack of funds did him in. You should have heard how a colleague in New Delhi – who has been covering Andhra and Karnataka politics for decades – laughed when I told him that RVD has been bandying about this excuse for his upcoming poor show (that was on May 13).
The man who worked the hardest in helping L K Advani realize his lifelong ambition is not very happy either. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa did more than what was expected of him – he delivered 19 BJP MPs to the Lok Sabha, silenced his critics and has, hopefully, reined in mischief-makers from rival parties who wanted to stoke communal fires in the state. And that is no small task, mind you, given the fact that he has been chief minister of Karnataka for less than a year. But it’s not a pretty picture if you hear your party chief conceding defeat and your prime ministerial candidate preparing to fade away.
The Congress performance in Delhi – where Sheila Diskhit became chief minister for the third consecutive term recently and the party swept the Lok Sabha polls on Saturday – is a good pointer to what chief ministers should do. Sheila Dikshit launched an aggressive development programme and has been aided by a weak and tattered opposition.
The BJP’s emphatic win in Karnataka is an endorsement of Mr Y’s policies. Hope he doesn’t get distracted by the events in New Delhi and keeps at them.