Battle for Karnataka: What strategy is the Congress working on to beat BJP?

Will Congress' 'Ahinda' formation help it overcome the BJP in the only big state it holds right now?

What is the strategy that the Congress needs to adopt in Karnataka, to retain the only government it has in an important state?
 

The party has itself indicated the direction in which it wants to go. Caste is going to be central to its calculations. In this context, what did it do right in 2013 that propelled it to power?
 

It relied on the Ahinda formation, the coalition of Dalits, backward castes, and minorities (Alpa Sankhyata, Hindulida, and Dalit, hence Ahinda). Political analysts have often written about Dalit-backed or socialist political parties forming the Ahinda combination as an election strategy.