By Matters India Reporter
Bengaluru, May 13, 2023: Church people in Karnataka have welcomed the results of the just concluded assembly elections in the state as a “sign of hope” and people’s “befitting response” to their dissatisfaction, fear and anger.
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that ruled the southern Indian state for the past four years lost when the results were announced May 13, three days after the elections were held.
It was defeated by the secular Congress Party that won 135 of the total 224 seats in the assembly.
The BJP, however, has retained its seats in the Christian stronghold of coastal Karnataka.
The BJP had come to power in Karnataka by toppling the Congress-led democratically elected coalition government.
“The results are a sign of hope and a befitting response by the people, who struggle for their life,” said Father Faustine Lobo, the spokesperson of the Catholic Church in Karnataka.
He said the polarization in the name of Hindutva or hate politics no longer impresses people. “They want developmental programs and pro-people policies,” Father Lobo told Matters India.
Jesuit social activist Father Cedric Prakash, a native of Karnataka now serving the Church in Gujarat, hailed the verdict as a response to hate politics promoted by the BJP.
“The verdict from Karnataka is a resounding defeat for the fascists, fundamentalists and fanatics, who have been trying to destroy democracy and pluralism with their corrupt, communal and criminal agenda,” Father Prakash told Matters India.
He said the BJP had indulged in “everything from their bad of dirty tricks. They splurged money and largesse all over; they bought up people and officials. The prime minister’s many visits to the state and his roadshows were all at the cost of the taxpayer. No party will ever reach their level of corruption,” he alleged.
Father Cedric was in Bengaluru, the Karnataka capital, for the last three weeks working with civil society groups, the archdiocese and the Jesuits. He said the BJP had played the communal card “to the hilt – denigrating, demonizing and discriminating” minorities particularly Muslims and Christians.
“They spewed venom through their hate speeches. From anti-conversion law to the hijab controversy; from Tipu Sultan to denying reservations for Muslims; from the screening of the Kerala Story to attacking Christian prayer meetings, they stopped at nothing to polarize the Hindus from the minorities,” he alleged.
The BJP also apparently legitimized criminal activities such as illegal mining and the filling up of precious water bodies, he added.
Father Lobo said the BJP government had also distanced itself from the people who were hit by the hike in prices of essential goods, fuel and cooking gas, as well as increased tax for everything.
“Just making some road shows and waving at people during the election did not convince the voters,” said the priest, who too termed the people’s mandate as a clear sign of response to hate politics.
Apostolic Carmel Sister Nirmalini, a Karnataka native who heads India’s more than 130,000 Catholic religious, expressed happiness over the election results and expressed the hope that the Congress party will work for people’s welfare.
“I am very happy and pray that the winning party now works on issues instead of dividing people,” said the nun who insisted that rulers should not ignore the poor when planning developmental projects.
She said the election results showed that people want good governance, jobs and a reasonable standard of living, not divisive politics.
Father Lobo said corruption charges against some BJP ministers and allegations of misgovernance also led to the downfall of the party.
The Mangalore diocesan priest, however, observed that the polarization issues such the hijab issue have helped the BJP retain its seats in the coastal region.
Jimmy Mathew, a social worker in Bengaluru, said the people’s mandate was not on the performance of the state’s BJP government, but against the anti-people policies of the federal government.