Bengaluru civic polls: How taking voters for granted cost Congress and benefited BJP

By Aravind S Kamal

This is one election that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will remember for long. As the Congress is in power in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah expected his party to win hands down in the elections to the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), which is responsible for the upkeep of the IT Capital of nation. Alas! The Congress not only lost the polls, but Siddaramaiah was forced to own responsibility for the dismal performance of the ruling party in Bengaluru.

So what exactly went wrong for the Congress in the civic polls because the popular perception was that the party in power in the state naturally wins elections to the urban local bodies? Any Congress insider will say that everything went wrong for the Congress from day one and they knew that it was fight that will go down in vain.

Firstly, there is no face or a leader for the Congress, who has a vision for Bengaluru. Even now, Bengalureans associate the city with the former CM SM Krishna, who was responsible for streamlining the growth of the city by evolving long-term infrastructure and housing plans. A recent survey by a local TV channel revealed that Krishna still had the highest recall among voters followed by BJP’s leader BS Yeddyurappa for their contribution to the city. But the Congress’ strategy was in the opposite direction. Krishna was not seen campaigning for the party in the polls. Siddaramaiah chose to dismiss his absence contending that it was the responsibility of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee to involve Krishna in the campaign.

Secondly, Infosys founder and Congress candidate in the last Parliamentary polls, Nandan Nilekani, was not roped in to influence the voters, particularly in the IT hubs. A political novice, Nandan was effective in countering the BJP in the Parliamentary polls, by actively engaging the youth on social media and through interactive sessions. Once again the explanation given by Siddaramaiah for Nandan’s participation in the campaign was that the veteran IT czar had distanced himself from active politics.

Thirdly, the Congress did not give a free hand to any of the youth Congress leaders, be it Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda or Food & Civil Supplies Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao to evolve campaign strategies. The Congress intelligentsia, such as, Rajya Sabha member Prof Rajeev Gowda, a known academician and Chairperson of the Centre for Public Policy, IIM-Bangalore, was not engaged in preparing a meaningful election manifesto.

Fourthly, after assuming power in Karnataka, Siddaramaiah chose to blame the BJP, which was in power in the BBMP for the last two years, for the chaos in the city. Rather than making Bengaluru a better place to live in, the Congress slept over the issues faced by Bengaluru for the last two years while the problems compounded. The least that Bengaluru expected was a dedicated minister for the city, a fact that Siddaramaiah ignored much to the anger of the residents.

He was not even moved when investors, representatives of MNCs, and even foreign consulate officers, expressed disappointment and complained about the laggardness of the Congress government in resolving issues faced by Bengaluru. So what was the guarantee that Siddaramaiah would address the issues of a common man in Bengaluru? With so many problems adding to the baggage of the Congress, Siddaramaiah lost the plot from the beginning.

Siddaramaiah, who led the Congress to an astounding victory in the Assembly polls two years ago, apparently, was under the impression that it would be a cakewalk for his party in the BBMP polls. He single-handedly selected the candidates, favored his community leaders, and even campaigned for them all over the city. Eventually, his party came second (victorious in 75 wards) as against the BJP, which raced to the top (victorious in 100 wards).

His campaign speeches lacked punch or even any visionary plans and focused more on why he delayed the polls (because he wanted to split the BBMP into 5 different municipal corporations for better administration). There was no sympathy for the hundreds of people whose homes built on lakebeds were demolished mercilessly by his government under the garb of court order. There was no long-term plan to end the flooding of streets during rains. There was no answer to the inordinate delay in Bangalore Metro; no plans to decongest Bengaluru roads….

It was evident that the Congress failed to connect with the voters and was relying on its past laurels. Never once was the average Bengaluru voter convinced that the Congress had the willpower or the long-term vision to end the ever-increasing infrastructure problems of the city. In a way, the Congress took Bengaluru voters for granted and they rightly proved that voters cannot be taken for a ride every time!