A day after the BJP released its manifesto for the Karnataka elections, editorials in prominent English dailies noted the “marriage of contrasts”, questioning how the mix of Hindutva pitches with welfare schemes could fulfil the development needs of a state falling behind “even among its southern neighbours in human development indices”.

In an editorial headlined “High on Hindutva”, the Indian Express noted that the manifesto is a mixture of Hindutva and welfare and “hardly echoes the aspirational pitch Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes at his election rallies in the state though he has described the manifesto as ‘development-centric’.” 

“Nor does it meet the demands of a state that has been falling behind even among its southern neighbours in human development indices, including for health, education, nutrition etc. Releasing the manifesto, party president J P Nadda said: “Our manifesto is a vision document for a developed Karnataka. It encompasses a forward looking approach and promises to fulfil the aspirations of everyone in Karnataka.” It’s hard to see how. There are the stock promises straight from the polarisation playbook, coming in the wake of the debates on hijab, Muslim reservation etc. As for welfare and development initiatives, they seem more like a response to the criticism that the Basavaraj Bommai government achieved little in office,” the editorial noted.

Meanwhile, the Hindustan Times tried to explain the “marriage of contrasts” in an editorial headlined “Welfare and ideology mark BJP manifesto”. It suggested that this was to “undercut the possible erosion of support due to its biggest perceived weakness in the state, grassroots corruption. This is why issues such as support for the poor finds place with more hot-button topics such as NRC or UCC, despite some lack of clarity on how these steps will be implemented (for example, Karnataka doesn’t have any international borders, so what would an NRC measure?).”

“The manifesto makes it clear that after the consternation and protests sparked by the candidates list (due to the BJP’s desire to effect a large-scale generational shift in the state unit and move away from the traditional reliance on local satraps and entrenched money power), the party is looking to steady the ship by building the broadest possible coalition and playing to its strengths – welfare delivery, social engineering and polarisation.”

The Indian Express pointed out that the Hindutva promises such as NRC, and the panel for temple autonomy and businesses nearby, may resonate among the BJP’s core base but “are unlikely to stave off anti-incumbency in the more middle-of-the-road voter struggling with a sluggish economy, lack of decent jobs, and crumbling public infrastructure”.

“Why would Karnataka, a southern state with no international border, be keen on an NRC considering that the exercise is meant to identify illegal migrants?” it asked. “A report card of its five years in office will be what matters – this manifesto is postscript, at best.”