How BJP broke Congress' Dalit stronghold and secured a big win in Karnataka

The three basic questions any reporter is taught to ask is: when; where and how. In the context of the Karnataka Assembly election 2018 Results, another one needs to be added: ‘for how long’.

The dismantling of the Siddaramaiah regime began nearly 18 months ago, when B S Yeddyurappa took office as the leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – much to the chagrin of rival party leaders like K Eshwarappa and Jagadish Shettar, even one-time protege and loyalist Sadananda Gowda – and proceeded to break the AHINDA (an acronym for minorities, backward classes and Dalits) caste coalition that brought the Congress to power in 2013.

The Congress had gained from the backing of the minorities and the Dalits. The first, Yeddyurappa knew he could not do anything about. The second, he could. He embarked on a back-breaking campaign across Karnataka to win over the Dalits. He ate with them, attended weddings, birthdays and christenings. He kissed babies and felicitated leaders. It was like building bridges with a community that had been oppressed brutally by other castes in Karnataka over the years.