‘Congress will recover faster than expected’: Cong minister Priyank Kharge to TNM

The young minister attributed the BJP’s victory to “rhetoric”.
‘Congress will recover faster than expected’: Cong minister Priyank Kharge to TNM
‘Congress will recover faster than expected’: Cong minister Priyank Kharge to TNM

Forty-year-old Priyank Kharge, a second-generation Congress minister in the Karnataka government tried to put up a brave front in times of unprecedented adversity. While the Congress has been virtually vanquished in the state, his father Mallikarjun Kharge, a heavyweight has been trumped by his protégé, Umesh Jadav. Priyank, however, blamed it on “anti-incumbency” and accepted defeat.

To the Congress “it just as an upset” is an understatement, even though the party has been reduced to a single seat. Until this, Kharge senior (76) had won nine Assembly elections and two Lok Sabha elections in a row. Kharge’s might had also resulted in the Congress securing a strong base in the entire Hyderabad-Karnataka region.

”Yes, there was some anti-incumbency but we will overcome that. Just losing one election does not mean that we have lost our entire existence. We are a 130-year-old party, we have groomed and nurtured the region. We will introspect and come back faster than expected,” a defiant Priyank told TNM, following an informal cabinet meeting called by Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday.

While the erstwhile leader of the Congess in Lok Sabha dedicated himself for campaigning for all across the state, it was up to the junior Kharge to prove his mettle. He was tasked with managing his father’s campaign in his home constituency.

“I cannot shy away from that [accepting responsibility for the defeat]. I think I had the biggest responsibility since I am the district in-charge minister too,” he said, while adding, “We have to figure that out it has been only 24 hours that the results out. Right now, I am in Bengaluru. I will go back to the constituency and talk to my leaders and we will figure out what went wrong. We will take corrective measures.”

The young minister attributed the BJP’s victory to “rhetoric”. “I think not just in Karnataka but the entire country, what worked for them was Mr Modi’s rhetoric. So, if they talked about jobs, agrarian crisis, we could have done something. I think the public fell for the rhetoric.”

Questioned about the failure of the Congress party to match up the BJP, Priyank insisted, “We have been trying to but you know how deep their pockets are.”

While the defeat in Lok Sabha is yet to sink in for the Congress-JD(S), there are murmurs in political circles that the state government will dissolve. But Priyank seemed adamant and said that inspite of the BJP’s advances, the current regime will complete its full term.

“They have been trying unconstitutionally to cede a constitutionally elected government, so it’s up to them to try or not try. But we will stay united and we will ensure the government lasts for four years. They are going to try it with renewed vigour but I would like to assure everybody that the government is here to stay for the next four years. The government is on a very strong wicket,” Priyank said.

When questioned about the rebelling MLAs in the party, Priyank said that the BJP is trying to buy them out. “They are buying MLAs. Is it constitutional?  And you are asking me why I should not blame them? They are opening their doors when the BJP is going to their houses. They are literally pulling them out of their offices. So, who should be blamed?”

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