adarsh bhat’s blog

Let’s take a look at the political developments reported so far.

The Hogenakkal Problem

Karnataka has had a 100 year old dispute about water sharing with its neighbouring state Tamil Nadu. In a continuation of this legacy, tensions flared up between the two states again over the controversial Hogenakkal project. Karnataka is opposed to this project, but Tamil Nadu has sworn to go ahead with it. Peace has followed a small spell of riots in both states. As is always the case, the movie industry, being the one closest to policitcs, came out in support of their respective states in both states and staged protests. When the situation was starting to look bleak, TN chief minister M K Karunanidhi announced that the project would be stalled until a popularly chosen government would be setup again in Karnataka. Although this looks like a very graceful gesture on the outside, Karunanidhi has been accused – both by opposition leader in TN Jayalalitha and Deve Gowda – of conspiring to protect the interests of the union Congress government in Karnataka.

The water problem has been abused by politicians on all sides, and it seems to be in no one’s interest to solve the problem once and for all.

Campaigning to go Green

The Election Commission has urged all political parties to use as little plastic as possible in their election campaigns. It is yet to be seen if political rallies will not make a mess by leaving behind banners and posters. According to the law, it is allowed for banners and posters to be used during a rally or conference, but they must be removed within an hour of the end of the rally. More here

Cabinet Reshuffle at the Center

The big news of the day is of course, the cabinet reshuffle at the center. The primary fallout from this seems to be that the Manmohan Singh government has yielded quite a bit to the wishes of the upcoming Congress leader of the Nehruvian family, Rahul Gandhi. But this might have as well been engineered to be this way. Although Rahul Gandhi has no achievements to sing about, it cannot be denied that he continues to hold the charismatic image of a Nehru in the eyes of the masses. In an attempt to make a Julius Caesar out of him, his mother Sonia Gandhi is reported to have said that Rahul refused ministership during this reshuffle. The Congress party is running on all cylinders in their effort to reunite the party – which is much needed – under the new leader Rahul Gandhi. This is certain to have an impact on the state elections at Karnataka.

War-time Alliances

In Karnataka, as before, the big parties continue to be the Congress (INC), BJP, JD(S) and JD(U). Although it is believed that the BJP might arise as the single biggest party after the polls, the national leadership of the BJP wants to play it safe and tie up with the JD(U). The state unit of BJP, however, is highly opposed to this. In the days to come, we’ll see if the party actually decides to go ahead with this coalition, and what the seat sharing arrangement is going to be. In all likelihood, the prospect of another coalition government is going to be very unpopular with the general public, given the political volatility in the past two coalition-led governments in the state.

Former Chief Minister S Bangarappa has said that his Samajwadi party is open to alliances with other parties, except the INC, BJP, BSP and JD(U). Interestingly, the only big party omitted from that list is the JD(S). Stating that his party’s goal is to work for the upliftment of the oppressed classes, Bangarappa has expressed confidence that his party would win many seats in the constituencies where they fight. Going with popular sentiment, he has expressed his support for the pro-Kannada activists in the Hogenakkal issue.

BJP Tries to Discredit Rahul Gandhi

In an attempt to discredit Rahul Gandhi, BJP leader Arun Jaitley has said that the INC lost elections in all those states where Rahul Gandhi toured before the elections. He said that the same is going to be the case in Karnataka, and that his party would emerge as the single largest party, and the Congress would “disappear” as it did those other states. DH report here.

Arun Jaitley also accused the union government of not taking enough steps to address the shortage of food and rising food prices. But experts have opined that this is a world-wide phenomenon, and not under the control of the Union governement.

Shameful expose of JD(S)

Sa Ra Mahesh is the JD(S) aspirant in the K R Nagar constituency. In direct violation of the electoral code, he was caught distributing sarees to a large number of people at his residence. Media persons surprised him and caught this on video. And at this, his men (and women) assaulted the media persons. This goes on to further worsen the already poor image of the JD(S) in Karnataka.

Congress Campaign to kick-off from Davangere

In an attempt to reinforce its pro-farmer image, the INC will launch its campaign from Davangere on April 13 with a state-level convention of farmers, reports the Hindu. It is expected that about 200,000 farmers, agricultural workers and party workers will be present at this occasion.

Software Engineers from Bangalore have always preferred their urban progressive ex-Chief Minister S M Krishna. They have even put up a website in his support:www.smkrishnaleadus.com. But unfortunately, S M Krishna has a very pro-modern image, and he is unlikely to be put forward as the CM candidate if the INC wants to pursue its pro-farmer campaign.

Meanwhile, horse trading has already begun with MLAs deciding to switch allegiances before the elections. We’ll keep our eyes on the radar and see how things turn out to be as we inch towards election day 08.

karnataka elections 2008, politics