In Karnataka, the quiet demise of Ahinda politics

Among the many promises made by the Congress before it came to power in Karnataka in 2023 was that it would restore a certain degree of morality, even probity and transparency, to public life.

- Janaki Nair

Nearly three years later, members of the Congress have publicly defied all decorum and rectitude in ways that have robbed the few achievements of the state government, including some innovative legislation, of their shine.

For too long, an unseemly struggle over the “right” to chief ministership has not only preoccupied TV anchors, newspapers and the social media, but has absorbed much of our elected representatives’ time. It shows no signs of abating. Recently, 30 Congress MLAs flew off to Delhi to plead with their party leaders for ministerial posts in what's left of a shaggy term.

And just prior to that, MLAs from all parties engaged in what a Kannada newspaper columnist wittily called the “ticket match” when they bargained for three VIP passes each to all IPL matches played in Bengaluru. A few BJP representatives gained high moral ground when they refused the passes, and preached better sense to the elected representatives. But the rare show of unity across party boundaries only made the MLAs’ sense of entitlement more conspicuous.