bengaluru the opposition congress paycm campaign has not only become a huge talking point which suggests its efficacy but has also embarrassed and rattled bjp which is now beginning to worry especially with assembly elections loomingon the surface bjp has used bluster insisting congress members are no saints when it comes to corruption and that the opposition party is yet to substantiate its claims with concrete evidence it has also retaliated through police actionchief minister basavaraj bommai and his supporters insist corruption accusations are old and outdated and no longer influence voters but several saffron party legislators from both houses have expressed concern over the campaign which is gaining traction both online and offlinesome even privately admitted that graft has emerged as a big issue and that it can severely dent the saffron partys prospects in assembly elections due in aprilmay next year they say the state bjp brass must work quickly to stem the damage by rolling up its sleeves and launching a counter strategyaware that bjps campaign will revolve around a hindutva platform congress is trying to set a narrative around corruption to counter the move the paycm issue has caught on like a house on fire congress leader rahul gandhis bharat jodo yatra which will enter karnataka on september 30 is also expected to step up the campaignthe narrative is reminiscent of the 2013 elections in which congress rode to power by accusing bjp of corruption mainly involving illegal mining and land denotification congress is hoping to repeat the magickarnataka has become a national embarrassment for bjp said professor ravindra reshme a political analyst the paycm campaign has tarnished the image of the party prime minister narendra modi keeps harping on three evils jathivad caste parivarvad dynasty and bhrashtachar corruption eating into the vitals of our polity but his own party unit in karnataka has become his achilles heel but some argue that there is no guarantee corruption will sway voters in karnataka when pm modi during campaigning for the 2018 assembly polls called the siddaramaiah government 10 sarkar it resonated with voters and it became a major issue said brijesh kalappa aap spokesperson and supreme court advocate now the tables are turned however the truth is that none of the three major political parties offer hope on curbing graft only aap can bring about change