The Karnataka Assembly Election of 2023 could shape the long-term contours of Indian politics, as it provides a path for the BJP's southward march, while for the INC, it's an opportunity to revive itself before the 2024 general elections. The reflection of both parties' goals can be seen in Modi and Priyanka's political campaigns in the state of Karnataka. Both of them recently conducted political rallies and road shows in Kudachi Assembly Constituency to campaign for their respective candidates.

The Kudachi Assembly Constituency is a stronghold of the BJP located in the Belgaum district of Karnataka and is part of the Chikkodi parliamentary constituency. It is known for its rich cultural heritage, agricultural-based economy, and scenic beauty. Although this assembly constituency is reserved for the Scheduled Castes, who constitute roughly one-fifth of the Kudachi population, the constituency has a strong presence of Lingayats. They are considered to be the core vote bank of the BJP and Kurbas are not far behind in terms of its population in this constituency. They support INC which also gets substantial support from the Muslim community, which makes up about 15% of the Kudachi assembly constituency population and is a solid vote bank for the INC.

The incumbent BJP MLA, P. Rajeev, is a two-time MLA and is now eyeing a hat trick on the BJP ticket. He contested the 2013 assembly election on the B. Sriramulu-led Badavara Shramikara Raitara Congress ticket and managed to dethrone the INC and push the BJP to the third spot. Once B. Sriramulu merged his party with the BJP just prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, he rejoined the BJP and contested the 2018 assembly election on the BJP ticket, managing to defeat INC candidate Amit Sharma Ghatage by a margin of more than 15,000 votes. The BJP has reposed faith in him and fielded him from this seat, whereas the INC has made Mahendra Thammannavar a party candidate, and the JD (S), whose candidates even failed to secure their deposits in the last three assembly elections, has fielded Anand Malagi, hoping to cash in on anti-incumbency against the ruling party's BJP MLA P. Rajeev, but the JD (S) remains insignificant in this assembly seat, and the election remains a bipolar contest between the INC and the BJP.

Upon our reaching the assembly constituency, we saw billboards of different candidates and political parties, but what was drawing the attention of voters was the music played loud on the loudspeaker by the INC and the BJP workers. While the INC song was all about praising Siddaramaiah and highlighting the promises it made to the voters of Karnataka, the BJP song was more about highlighting the work done by the existing MLA and convincing voters to choose him over others.

To conclude, on the ground, it seems that people are not satisfied with the existing BJP MLA, P. Rajeev, who has been at the helm since 2013, and thus want to see a change. However, the INC is fighting not only against the BJP candidate but also against Modi, who held a rally in this assembly constituency to soar up support for the BJP candidate. To give the INC candidate an edge, the INC brought its star campaigner, Priyanka Vadra Gandhi, who held a roadshow in this constituency whose impact will be clear on election result day. But nevertheless, this election is going to be a close contest between the INC and the BJP, and hence follow our predictions in the ETG Research – Times Now opinion poll.