The Congress party's ad campaign in Karnataka is gaining traction with its innovative approach to remind voters of the alleged corrupt record of the incumbent BJP government. The campaign features ads that draw attention to the various corruption allegations that have been raised against the government, including the 40% commission complaint by contractors, 30% commission allegations by a top Lingayat seer, and complaints by 13,000 schools. The campaign also highlights infamous scams like the police sub-inspector recruitment (PSI), Bangalore Development Authority (BDA), and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) scams.
The ad campaign, which appeared on Saturday, May 6, is spread across two pages of English and Kannada newspapers. The first page features a creative with an electronic voting machine, while the second page contains newspaper reports of various top media houses. The Congress, with its latest ad campaign, is hoping to remind voters of the corruption allegations that have plagued the BJP government, using news headlines from the past few years. It urges voters to vote for Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections in order to rid the state of corruption.
The ad comes on the heels of a similar ad campaign that was run on Friday, May 5, in which the Congress had called the Basavaraj Bommai-led BJP government in the state as the most corrupt government. It had also stated that the BJP had looted the state of over Rs 1,50,000 lakh crore.
Congress accusing the BJP of having a 'weak CM' in Karnataka
In its response, the BJP denied the charges and called the allegations in the ads fake. On Saturday, the BJP published another ad in local newspapers that compared the Congress’s 65-year rule with the BJP’s three-and-a-half-years rule, adding that if the Congress had served the state, it wouldn’t have to depend on lies, appeasements, and false guarantees to seek votes in the coming elections. It further added that the Congress was a “reverse gear party,” while the BJP was building a better future at “double speed and double scale.”
The 40% commission allegations against the Bommai government, which were reported in 2021, involved allegations that the government was taking a commission of 40% on government contracts. The Congress has been using the allegation in their ad campaign to draw attention to the issue of corruption in the state. The party hopes that its campaigns, spread across newspapers, social media, and other advertising channels, will resonate with voters and lead to a change in government.
Newspaper ads from the Congress that provide a 'corruption rate card' for the BJP in Karnataka
Congress ads in newspapers showing various news headlines on BJP's corruption