BBMP polls: Will minor outfits fell mighty Congress?

Bengaluru: Fringe parties like BSP, AIMIM and Loksatta seem to have turned into a headache for the ruling Congress in the city. The BSP is contesting in as many as 37 wards while AIMIM candidates are contesting in 17 wards on the party symbol and in the remaining 13 as independents. The Loksatta has fielded candidates in 16 seats.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior Congress leader observed that the votes polled by either BSP or AIMIM could weaken the Congress vote bank, so, leaders especially in-charge ministers of the respective constituencies have to assess the damage these parties may cause to Congress candidates in the ensuing election.

The source quoting a preliminary estimate of the Congress, said that these two outfits can easily dent the party's votes by 500 to 1500 votes at this juncture. "But even this small vote share can make a big difference in polls like BBMP, where a candidate eyes a vote share of 10,000 to 15,000 to win a ward," the source explained.

Apart from this, the Congress party is also wary of the Loksatta party’s entry while a party like AAP will invariably pitch in to help such candidates. "These parties are known to inflict damage across the city, whether they contest or do not contest. Their aim is to highlight traditional parties’ mistakes be it administrative failure or spread false propaganda against a particular candidate.

The small pockets of cosmopolitan voters spread across the city may damage all major parties including the Congress. The workers of these parties are well versed in tackling social media and they can pass a message effectively, so it would be difficult for the Congress to ignore the presence of any group, however small it may be," the source claimed.

The AIMIM is focussing on Muslim votes and the Congress party is worried that Muslim votes may get divided and the party may fail to consolidate the minority votes. Similarly, sources said, Congress party leaders are worried about the BSP attracting dalit votes from the slums which constitute major vote banks. This may cause more damage to the Congress than the BJP, sources said.

JD(S) gameplan: Focus on 40

The JD(S), which has classified Bengaluru wards as A, B and C based on the chances o fvictory, has decided to concentrate more on A and B category constituencies. During a meeting of candidates, which was attended by party state president H.D. Kumaraswamy and Chamarajpet MLA B.Z. Zameer Ahamed Khan, the party has decided to expose both the Congress and BJP during the BBMP elections.

Addressing candidates, Mr Zameer said that Mr Kumaraswamy would concentrate on A and B category constituencies, where the party candidates have an advantage. There were at least 40 constituencies where party prospects are bright, he said.

Ridiculing Transport Minister Mr Ramalinga Reddy, who said the JD(S) will not win more than 15 seats, Mr Zameer said Mr Reddy had never got out of his Assembly constituency and would not be aware of the ground reality.

BJP manifesto in 2 days, Ashok says it will be all about city’s development

The BJP will come out with its manifesto for the bengaluru city elections in two days, party leader, R. Ashok announced. Talking to reporters here, Mr Ashok while taking a dig at the Congress manifesto, said the party’s manifesto would not only reply to questions posed by the Congress, it would suggest a road map for the city.

When reporters drew his attention towards the Congress attack on the BJP claiming the saffron party did nothing for the city, Mr Ashok said, "We will present a status report on what we did to the city, be it restoration of lakes, building flyovers and underpasses. Our manifesto will focus on development. We will suggest programmes for containing pollution of lakes, traffic jams and creating signal free corridors. We are going to fight the election on the development agenda," he said.

Mr Ashok also came down heavily on the Congress saying, "There is nothing in the Congress manifesto. They shied away from answering questions on what they did for the city in the last two years. They have no development agenda. Their manifesto is nothing but political activism. That clearly shows they have not done anything," Mr Ashok said.

He criticised the Congress for coming out with their manifesto in four langauges. "We have a language policy in Karnataka. You tried to insult Kannadigas by doing this," he said.

Mr Ashok also tried to play down the raging controversy over reports that he had insulted Lingayats. The former deputy chief minister asked reporters to provide evidence to suggest that he insulted Lingayats.

"When B.S. Yeddyurappa was the chief minister, the party gave tickets to three Lingayats. This time too, we have fielded only three candidates. I have the highest regard for Mr Yeddyurappa. I would never insult Mr Yeddyurappa or Lingayats. I never spoke ill of the community or community leaders. So, these reports are misleading and baseless," Mr Ashok said.