Blessings often come heavily disguised as setbacks. The Congress is possibly experiencing such a blessing in Karnataka and is failing to recognize it as such. This is understandable since, as a political party, the Congress has every justifiable reason to see the loss of power as a serious setback. The attention and the anger of the Congress in Karnataka have been focussed on the shenanigans of Mr H.D. Kumaraswamy, and his father, the ?humble farmer? who became prime minister, Mr H.D. Deve Gowda. Consequently, some of the undercurrents of Karnataka politics have escaped Karnataka Congressmen. Beyond the twists and turns of the state?s coalition politics was the arena of panchayat elections which the political parties fought on their own without any kind of alliance. Mr Deve Gowda?s party, the Janata Dal (Secular), took a beating here. One reason for this was Mr Deve Gowda?s decision to throw out Mr Siddaramaiah, the former deputy chief minister. The latter posed a challenge to the dominance of Mr Kumaraswamy. Mr Siddaramaiah?s party surprised everybody by scoring well in the panchayat polls. His support, significantly for the Congress, came from the backward castes of Karnataka. He has thus emerged as a potential electoral partner of the Congress. Such an alliance could lead to a formation representing Muslims and backward castes, and thus pose a formidable challenge to the Bharatiya Janata Party-JD(S) combination.

The BJP will soon discover, as the Congress did much to its own dismay, that the JD(S) under its present leadership cannot be trusted as a partner. Mr Deve Gowda scuppered the functioning of Mr Dharam Singh?s government, and when he saw the success of Mr Siddaramaiah, he took his wares to the BJP. His support is obviously for sale and the Congress may be well rid of such an ally. The Congress should bide its time in the opposition benches and build up a stronger coalition with dependable allies. These political developments also divert attention from the fact that everything in Karnataka is overwhelmed by the obvious success story of Bangalore. There are districts in Karnataka which are poor and backward, with conditions reminiscent of villages in Bihar. The Congress in opposition should concentrate on these districts and their development. Only this can ensure the party?s enduring popularity and its return to power.