Bengaluru: The BJP which had ruled the city for five years, has taken a clear edge in the battle for the prestigious civic body. Even before the Supreme Court directed the state government to hold BBMP elections in three months, the opposition BJP has finished one round of campaigning in the city. BJP MLAs and MLCs are in the field, campaigning for the party by highlighting the failures of the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government.
The main election ploy of the BJP is to nail the Congress ‘apathy’ when it comes to providing better infrastructure for Bengaluru city. The party has reached voters by propagating the failures of the state government with regard to poor infrastructure. Besides, BJP has taking up the case of Congress MLA Munirathna Naidu who is accused of presenting fake bills for non-existent work in BBMP. The party is also harping on the mysterious death of IAS officer D.K. Ravi and the government’s inaction in handling the officer’s death case.
The proposal to trifurcate BBMP has come in handy for the BJP to slam the Congress government. While campaigning, BJP leaders are claiming the Congress government does not want 110 villages to be part of Bengaluru and so has decided to divide the city into three parts. During formation of BBMP, 110 villages were incorporated with the civic body.
The party is doing its best to sway voters residing in peripheral Bengaluru to oppose the trifurcation. It has finished one round of campaigning in Doddabasti, Ramasandra, Chennasandra, Uttarahalli, Mahadevapura, Yelahanka, Dasarahalli, Rajarajeshwarinagar and Sunkadakatte. BJP city leaders and MLAs have taken part in the first round of campaigning. Speaking to this newspaper BJP MLC, Ashwathnarayana said the party has finished one round of campaigning and has called for a meeting of former corporators to discuss poll strategies.
The party has decided to make use of its data base of new members. Since the party has already crossed the 20 lakh membership mark, it has decided to reach them personally, said Mr. Ashwathnarayana.
BJP & JD(S) plan strategy for GP polls
The state BJP will be forming 30 teams to oversee the forthcoming elections to Gram Panchayats and is hoping to make the best of the controversial Land acquisition bill and explain to people how farmer friendly it is.
Speaking to reporters here on Wednesday, BJP National Joint Secretary Mr C.T. Ravi said the teams will hold rallies at the Assembly constituency as well as ward level. Though there was a hue and cry against the Land Acquisition bill, it is farmer friendly and treats people with dignity, claimed Mr Ravi adding that the BJP will explain to people the benefits of the bill. It will also bank on welfare programmes of the previous BJP government like the Bhagyalakshmi scheme and Gram Vikas scheme.
After the Congress came to power, developmental activity in villages has come to a standstill. “In rural areas, Congress has lost its power. The BJP will expose the double standards of the Congress,” he added.
GP polls a test of CM’s success? Not all agree
Congress leaders are divided over whether the forthcoming polls to Gram Panchayats and BBMP can be considered a test of the popularity and leadership skills of Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah.
While one section asserts that panchayat polls are held without party symbols and it’s only the CM’s image which matters, another section claims the battle for GPs are fought by local MLAs and therefore they should be considered a survival test for MLAs and not for Mr Siddaramaiah. The majority of leaders however concur on one point: The BBMP elections would be the real test of the party’s popularsity in the state.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle a senior leader said: “As elections to BBMP are held based on party symbols, victory and defeat have a major impact on the psyche of party workers.” The GP polls are considered a stand-off between incumbent legislators and others in the respective constituencies. “MLAs generally take GP polls very seriously, while in BBMP polls, issues matter most. For instance, good roads and quality power supply can ensure victory or defeat of a party, while in the GP’s it’s always personality centric politics,” the source explained
A loss in the GP polls cannot be considered an embarrassment for Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah as he too can claim a large number of seats. “Moreover, in GPs, post-electoral arithmetic plays a lead role like who will be president or vice president. The government can even sway things its way”, the source contended.
Different plan for BBMP & GP polls
The Congress is planning separate strategies for the BBMP and GP polls. “As far as BBMP is concerned Chief Minister Siddarmaiah has been trying to strike the right chord with voters announcing the Global Investors Meet and promising more schemes for urban voters. Ahead of GP polls, he has announced free distribution of rice,” a senior leader close to Mr Siddaramaiah disclosed.
