Analysis | The problem is 'your corruption'!

Karnataka politics has been in a state of unbridled mudslinging for the past two weeks. It is unprecedented. There has been a huge amount of accusations and counter-accusations. Each political party seems to take great pleasure in accusing its opponent of being the embodiment of corruption.

There is a battle going on here between 'your corruption' and 'my corruption' and 'my corruption'. It seems as if one wrong is being tried to correct another.
It is very clear that political mudslinging has reached a very low level. Morality is slowly declining at the level of every political individual and institution.

In the political battle, the ruling party and the opposition alliance are not hesitating to take any step to achieve their goals. Both sides are accusing their opponents of abusing power, violating rules, exercising power beyond their limits, not acting transparently, and engaging in corruption. It started before the 2023 assembly elections and has continued even two months after the results of the Lok Sabha elections were declared.

This strategy of attacking the opponent rather than defending one’s own path is linked to three interrelated developments. First, the war on corruption is also at the level of public perception. Political parties and their leaderships strategize to target their opponents or to showcase their achievements. When it comes to corruption and abuse of power, all ruling parties have a lot to defend themselves with. They take an aggressive stance against opposition parties.

Similarly, when in the opposition ranks, it does not often talk about what it did when it was in power. But then it attacks the party that is in power. In this way, a war of perception begins among the people. The decision to attack the opponent is already made.

After deciding to attack, the parties start searching for the weapons they need. That is, they look for reasons to justify the decision they have made! In the end, whatever they find, they use that material to accuse the opponents. The second issue is naturally intertwined with the first. There is a very strong polarization in Karnataka politics. People have strongly identified with different political parties. Thus, the opinions of people who have identified with the parties are being determined by the political parties they support. Whose opinion and stance on which issue depends on who they identify with.

Two data points are important here. A survey conducted by Lokneeti and CSDS during the 2023 assembly elections asked voters whether the ruling BJP should be allowed to lead the government for another term. The responses were clearly along party lines. 89% of those who voted for the BJP said 'yes' to the question, while 85% of those who voted for the Congress said 'no'. At that time, 75% of those who voted for the JDS said 'no'.

In the Lokneeti-CSDS post-election survey conducted during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the question was asked, 'Should the BJP be given another term at the Centre?' 78% of BJP voters in Karnataka answered 'Yes'. 65% of Congress voters said 'No'. Interestingly, this time 92% of JDS voters said 'Yes'.

The implication is very clear. Which party a person supports determines what his stance will be. That is, the battle based on the perception that arises among people here becomes very important.

Third, parties are very keen to please their supporters and keep them with them. For this, why do they try to portray the opposing party as ‘corrupt’? Is the party forgetting that it is a reflection of the opposing party? Given the internal factionalism in the Congress, BJP and JDS parties, even though a party may be politically opposed to the opposing party, individuals within the party are also trying to consolidate their position.

Are the appeals made by political parties addressed to everyone in the state? Are the appeals addressed to everyone or are they only intended to keep the supporters of the person making the appeal united? Another fact related to these questions is the decreasing public trust in the impartiality of government-controlled institutions. The CSDS-Lokniti survey, conducted before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, put some questions to the people regarding major institutions.
The number of people who said that institutions are being used to avenge political hatred was higher than the number who said that the institutions are working within their jurisdiction.

All this leads us to a cynical conclusion. Political actors attack only their opponents without looking at themselves. They do not look at whether they are like the people they are opposing. Corruption everywhere is not a cause for concern here, but rather 'your' corruption is the only thing that matters. In this battle between 'you' and 'me', the real issues are pushed to the sidelines. This does not happen out of forgetfulness; it happens out of consensus.