Three weeks ago, after presenting the final state budget of his tenure, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dismissed the opposition's criticism of his lengthy spending plan when elections were round the corner. "This is a regular budget," he told newsmen, and pausing for effect, added nonchalantly, "keeping in mind we will come back again to implement it." Last weekend, however, as the BJP wrested three north-eastern states, its national president Amit Shah weighed in with an equal measure of confidence. His sights, said Shah, were on the last few bastions of Orissa, Bengal and Kerala because "we will anyway win Karnataka".