BJP winning in Karnataka, but Modi unlikely to prepone general elections

A clear win in Karnataka for the BJP, which has plans for a grand celebration of four years in office, is bound to add muscle to the already muscular party. And, far from being unnecessary flab, the party will use it to romp home in Lok Sabha 2019.

But will Prime minister Narendra Modi decide to prepone the general elections? According to senior BJP sources, the chances are less for general elections to be held by the end of 2018.

Between now and the next summer, there are crucial assembly elections, each with different sets of problems, to be won. If there is a three-term anti-incumbency staring Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan in the face, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje is caught up in a mess of her own making. "The prime minister is fighting every election almost on his own. So, it is likely he will win these to bolster state units, and use the time available to show more results on the ground," said a source.

While Modi may be more than confident, he will not be overconfident. A few months later is not going to make any difference to the outcome he expects to realise. Nor does the BJP leadership fear that the Congress will overtake them if they don't go for general elections now.

This source also sought to delink this from Modi's general campaign for simultaneous assembly and Lok Sabha elections.