National leaders rarely manage to create an impression through their fleeting visits during polls. In the recent Karnataka assembly elections, the regions where four main national leaders—Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Narendra Modi and L.K. Advani—campaigned have thrown up mixed results.

Rahul Gandhi, for instance, traveled the length and breadth of Karnataka—first, as part of a pre-poll youth Congress tour and then, during the three phases of the election. Whether his visits had an impact or not, the districts initially toured by Rahul Gandhi, especially in south Karnataka, at the end of March, returned strong results for the Congress. But as you follow the leader’s trail further north, the results weakened. The party won all four seats in the district of Chamarajnagar, which has a sizable population of scheduled tribes and where Rahul Gandhi made his first stopover in March. In the neighbouring Mysore district, where Rahul Gandhi interacted with youths, the Congress won eight out of 11 seats. In coastal Mangalore, the Congress made a small comeback, winning five out of 13 seats compared to the three that it won during the previous polls.

But in three of the four northern districts where the Congress leader held small meetings and road shows, the Congress was stumped. In the BJP stronghold of Dharwad, the Congress managed to win just one of seven seats, but got none in Gadag and Bagalkot. In Raichur, the Congress managed an improved show over 2004, winning three of seven seats compared to the single seat it won in 2004. At Bangalore’s Byatarayanapura, where Rahul Gandhi held a public meeting, Congress’s Karnataka youth president Krishna Byregowda emerged victorious. However, the party itself won only 10 of 28 seats in Bangalore City.

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